Come Back to the Start
by mysticmaven
Summary: AU/AH: After 5 years in New York, a newly defeated Caroline Forbes has to return to her hometown. Caroline now has to find out how to live her life without plans, especially when a sexy lawyer is taking an interest in her, her ex is slowly becoming her best friend, and her best friend is marrying her worst enemy.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Well, if it isn't little Caroline Forbes," I heard from a few steps ahead of me.

I looked up to see my best friend since I was 12, Stefan Salvatore. He was wearing a smile, which he rarely did, and his green eyes were crinkling at the sides. I dropped my laptop bag and purse and ran to him. I jumped to put my arms around his neck. He swayed from my unexpected weight.

"Gez, Care," Stefan wheezed, wrapping his arms around me. "You miss me or something?"

I bit my lip to fight back tears. I hadn't seen Stefan since I left to go to college in New York five years ago. He was one of the only people, besides my mom, that I had kept in touch with relatively well throughout the years. After the last few months I'd had, it didn't take much to make me cry nowadays.

"Care?" Stefan called again. He patted me on the back.

"Sorry," I mumbled as I disconnected myself from him.

"You all right?" he asked, rubbing his thumb across my cheek.

"Yeah," I said, with a fake, chipper smile.

Stefan snorted. "Right then," he said, taking his hand off my face and replacing an arm around my shoulders. "How much luggage do you have for me to carry?"

I laughed and collected my carry-ons. "Just three suitcases."

Stefan gasped. "My, how you have changed, Caroline Forbes."

Had I ever.


	2. Chapter 2

"…can you believe that?" Stefan was saying.

He had been catching me up on his life in Mystic Falls. He was on his second year of med school and was finally getting to do work in the Mystic Falls Hospital. Stefan had gone to school at the nearby college and was going to med school through the satellite campus of the University of Richmond. Stefan had wanted to be an oncologist since his mother died when we were fourteen, and his dreams were quickly becoming a reality for him. As his friend, I couldn't have been more proud and happy, but as a failure, I couldn't have been more jealous.

"Bekah's excited to see you," he said.

I let out a disgruntled snort. "I'm sure she is," I said.

Stefan had been dating Rebekah Mikaelson since we were juniors in high school. Rebekah and two of her bothers had moved to Mystic Falls with their mother when we were sophomores, and she had her eye on Stefan from the moment she started school. That was the thing about the Mikaelsons; they always got what they wanted.

"She's actually matured a lot," Stefan said, turning down the main road in town. "She's not nearly as petty as she was in high school."

I rolled my eyes. I couldn't imagine Rebekah Mikaelson being anything but the girl who wanted to steal my spot as head cheerleader and take me out of Stefan's life.

"Uh, we're actually having a dinner thing at the boarding house tomorrow," he said, as he turned into a restaurant I didn't know. The Hunter.

"What kind of thing?" I asked.

Stefan gave me one of his signature looks of irritation.

"Since when does Caroline Forbes turn down a party?" he asked.

Since my fiancé dumped me at one. Since I lost my job at one.

"It's not a big deal, Care," he said, getting out of the car. "It's just a few of our friends coming around for dinner. Elena's got some new recipes she wants to try out."

It was still weird to me that Stefan got along so well with his ex-girlfriend, now sister-in-law.

"Besides," he said as we made our way to the restaurant, "everyone will be so excited your back."

I didn't particularly want to be back.

"Whatever," I said. "You know I'll do it because I love you, but you're paying for my lunch."

Stefan smiled. "Deal."

We walked into the restaurant, and it didn't look like any restaurant that would have been in Mystic Falls. It was a little darker than the grill and was composed mostly of high top tables with a few scattered booths. There were at least ten different kinds of animal heads on the wall. And behind the bar at the far side of the room was a familiar face.

Stefan's brother, Damon.

"Well, if it isn't Mystic Falls's favorite Barbie," he said, throwing his bar rag on the bar and walking over to me.

For being almost thirty, Damon was still attractive. In fact, it didn't look like he had changed at all. Tall, dark, and handsome eternally, it seemed. He even wore the same type of clothes he always did—dark jeans and t-shirts.

"Hey, Damon," I said, as Damon gave me an awkward hug.

Damon had been my first boyfriend when I was fifteen, and he was seventeen. It lasted two months. Enough time for him to take my virginity and for me to decide he was a bastard. That being said, I was still on good terms with him because of Stefan and Elena.

"That was weird," Damon said as he pulled away. I nodded and wrinkled my nose. "Lena didn't tell me you were coming to visit."

"Well, actually, I…" I didn't know how to finish that sentence. I got distracted by the gold band on his left ring finger.

"Caroline is actually moving back," Stefan said. The brothers shared a look. Stefan threatening; Damon irritated.

"You should come to the house when you get settled," Damon said, finally breaking the contest with Stefan. "Elena and I have done a lot with the house. She'd love to show you."

"You and Elena live in the old Gilbert place?" I asked.

"Yeah," Damon said. "Been working on it for two years now. Almost finished."

I smiled thinking of all the great times I had spent in the Gilbert house with Elena and Bonnie. I had more good memories in that house than my own. I knew Elena must have been ecstatic to keep the family tradition going. Elena loved family and tradition.

"I bet Care is starved," Stefan said. "Get us two of the specials, and we'll seat ourselves."

"You got it, little brother," Damon said.

Stefan led me to what I assumed was his usual table. It was one of the only booths in the place.

"So, Damon is working as a bartender?" I asked. "Can't imagine Elena is too excited about that."

"There's my judgy Caroline," Stefan said with a grin. I scowled. "Damon opened this place three years ago after we got the inheritance from Dad sorted out."

"Damon owns this place?" I asked.

"Don't sound so surprised, Blondie," Damon said, coming over my shoulder to put down a glass of water and some silverware.

"Doesn't really look like your sort of place," I said, waving to the wall of animal heads.

"Ric, my business partner, likes to hunt," Damon said. "Besides, it's a theme, Barbie. I thought you would get that better than anyone, or has all that party planning left you since you moved?"

"Damon," Stefan said sternly.

"What?"

"How about you go check on our food?" Stefan suggested. Damon rolled his eyes but followed what Stefan said.

"He doesn't know," Stefan said.

I exhaled a deep breath. "Whatever."

"Caroline?" someone called from the entry.

I looked up to see Bonnie Bennett. I couldn't help it; I turned into a teenager again. I got up, squealed, and ran over to her. We hugged and jumped up and down.

"I didn't know you were here!" Bonnie said.

"It's a super long story," I said. Bonnie leaned over to hug me again.

"We have to get together like old times," Bonnie said. "Girls night!"

I laughed. I sincerely laughed.

"I just got in today," I said. "And Stefan is apparently having some kind of dinner thing tomorrow, but maybe Friday?"

Bonnie grinned. "We can have it at Elena's like old times."

I smiled.

"Babe," a deep voice called over my shoulder. Bonnie looked up with a loving smile.

"Jeremy?" I asked.

I couldn't believe the tall, muscular man I was looking at was Jeremy Gilbert. He was like an adult. I would always think of him as the kid that got his head stuck in the banister when he was eight.

"Caroline?" Jeremy asked, throwing an arm around me. "What are you doing in town?"

"I'm actually moving back," I said, pulling away and looking at Bonnie.

Bonnie studied me for a second in only the way she can.

"That's awesome," Jeremy said. "You should go see Elena after you eat here. She's got some awesome new blueberry scones on special this week with some bitchin' cream cheese spread."

"Yeah," Bonnie said, as Jeremy put an arm around her. "We're actually headed to the bakery for a second to drop off some things. You and Stef should come after Damon poisons you."

"I made the burgers," Jeremy said. "Damon's just in charge of the fries. You should be fine."

"I heard that, little Gilbert!" Damon shouted from the table with Stefan.

I smiled. "You work here?"

"Elena called in a favor for me," he said. "I work nights here usually, and days at the bakery with Elena."

"Lots of work," I said.

"Bonnie and I just got a house on Mansfield, so we've got bills," Jeremy said.

"You two live together?" I asked.

Bonnie smiled up at Jeremy. "Since March."

"Awesome," I stuttered.

"Care!" Stefan yelled.

"Well, I think I better go eat," I said. I mentally thanked Stefan for sharing some kind of telepathic link with me.

Bonnie leaned over and hugged me. "Of course. Come to the bakery and see Elena. Girls night soon!"

I gave an awkward grimace. "Sure." I waved as they walked out.

"What's wrong with your face?" Damon asked as I approached the table.

"Can you get me a shot?" I asked.

"Of what?"

"Surprise me."

"Get it done, Barbie," Damon scrambled off to the bar.

"Found out about Bon and Jer," Stefan said. He squirted some ketchup on his plate.

"And Damon owns a restaurant?" I said. "Seriously?!"

"Care."

"I mean, like, seriously, am I the one person who hasn't gotten it together?" I asked. I got up, my food forgotten, so I could pace.

"Caroline."

"I've had twenty-five years to get my life together," I said. "I've spent the last five years in New York, but I've ended up back here. I was valedictorian! I was head cheerleader! I was freaking Miss Mystic Falls! What did I do so wrong?!"

"Drink up. Barbie," Damon said, setting down a tumbler full of an amber color liquid. It was bourbon, if I knew him. I threw the drink back. Yep, bourbon.

"Like, even Damon has gotten it together," I said, helping myself to another shot from the bottle Damon had put down on the table.

"Classic Caroline freak out," Damon said, taking my abandoned side of the booth and spreading out. He took a long swig of the bourbon after me. "I've kind of missed this."

"Shut up, Damon," Stefan and I said in unison. Stefan struggled out of the booth to come to me.

"Caroline, I know it's been a rough few months, but you're home now," Stefan said. He bent down to my eye level and began to rub my shoulders like he had down many times before.

"I don't want to be home," I said.

"I know," Stefan said. "But you have people to support you here. We're here to help you. We care about you, Caroline. Even Damon."

"Against my will," Damon said, eating my fries.

"People are going to make fun of me," I said. I knew I was pouting, but if I couldn't pout about this, what could I pout about?

"People aren't going to make fun of you," Stefan said. "You've done more than most of the people who live in this town."

"Any body who says anything, I'll take away their drinking rights here," Damon said, finishing off my fries.

"Most of the town does drink here, so that's actually a big deal," Stefan said.

I gave a small smile.

"Hey, Damon, will you get us a couple of boxes?" Stefan asked. "I think Caroline has had enough excitement today."

Damon gave a course nod and swaggered to the back room.

"It really be okay," Stefan said. "We'll take care of you, Care."

"Stefan, I haven't been in contact with most of these people since high school," I said. "Why wouldn't they be delighted by my failure?"

"You saw Bonnie," Stefan said. "You don't stop being friend just because you move away."

"I don't have a job," I said. "I'm living back at home."

"We'll figure it out," Stefan said. "What are best friends for?"

As I hugged Stefan, I realized that, for better or worse, I was home.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm new to this whole "posting-my-fics" thing, so I have a ton of chapters stocked up. I'll probably post every day to every other day until I get caught up. Also, I'm new to the site, so be gentle when it comes to formatting. Thanks for reading, and on with the story!**

* * *

"Caroline. Caroline! It's almost three in the afternoon! Get up!"

I groaned and rolled over. It was two forty-five. It's very easy to sleep until mid-day when you have nothing to get up for.

"Caroline Elizabeth Forbes!" my mother called from my doorway.

"What?" I grumbled, turning on my side away from her.

"I have to leave for my shift, and I wanted to make sure you weren't dead," she said stiffly.

"How considerate," I mumbled.

"Stefan called earlier to remind you to be at the boarding house by six," she said.

"Great," I cheered sarcastically.

"Just be careful, sweetheart," she said.

"I'll watch out for all the vampires and werewolves," I said.

"If only that's what we had to worry about, sweetie," she said. I felt the end of my bed slump under her weight. "I really am glad to have you home."

Glad to have me home so she can ignore me just like she did for eighteen years.

"Goodbye, mother."

I heard her exhale in irritation.

"Have fun tonight," she said. "Tell Stefan I said hello."

"Hmm," I sounded.

I didn't even attempt to get up until I heard her footstep go down the stairs and the front door closed behind her.

I flipped to my back. It was so strange to be back in my old room. Floral sheets, ancient quilt, mint-colored walls. Plus all my trophies, ribbons, and certificates seemed to be taunting me. It was weird how nothing in this room seemed to change in all the years I had been away, but I had changed so much.

I turned to look at my alarm clock. It was just after three, which was three hours before I was expected to be at Stefan's. For the old Caroline, that wouldn't have been enough time, but for lazy, failure Caroline, it was more than enough. I rolled off the bed to get into the shower.

As I stripped down, I stole a glance at myself in the mirror above the sink. In the mirror, I looked like the same old Caroline. Blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a fantastic figure. Maybe only I could see the age within my eyes. It was amazing how much life could beat you down in such a short time. I used to think that I would be able to shine through anything, but I had been wrong.

"Caroline!" Stefan exclaimed when he opened the door to the boarding house. I couldn't help but smile at him.

"Everybody's in the parlor," Stefan said, pulling me in.

"Caroline!" Bonnie said when I walked into the room.

The room was full with people from my past. Stefan and Damon, obviously, as well as Jeremy and Bonnie.

"Great the former Miss Mystic Falls has decided to grace us with her presence," a delicate British voice said from the door to the kitchen.

"Hello, Rebekah," I said politely. I was mainly polite because Stefan's hand was painfully gripping my upper arm.

Rebekah, to my irritation, seemed to have become more beautiful since I had been away. She still kept her unnervingly blonde hair at shoulder length and her eyes were still bright and slightly malicious. Her face didn't show any signs of age and her legs were nicely tan under her short white dress. She was still infuriating.

"Stefan has been talking about your return for the entire week," she said, sitting delicately down on one of the loveseats. She crossed her legs and looked slightly bored. A signature Rebekah trait was that she looked bored in every situation.

"Nice to see you too," I muttered.

"How's Elena in the kitchen?" Stefan said, going to sit by his girlfriend on the loveseat.

"Everything smells delicious," Rebekah said. "She and Alaric are just portioning everything out."

Stefan smiled down at Rebekah and slipped an arm around her shoulders. I barely stopped my face from slipping into a snarl.

"How was your first day back, Blondie?" Damon asked from his stance at the drink cart.

"Vodka," I said to him.

"You want that mixed with anything?" he asked.

"Surprise me." I didn't really want it mixed with anything, but I didn't want to deal with Stefan's worried gaze if I didn't.

While Damon poured, I answered his question. "Fine."

"You sound excited to be back," Jeremy noted, handing me the glass that Damon had fixed.

"I just stayed around the house," I said.

"Your mom hasn't let up on her workload since you left," Bonnie noted, sitting on the arm of Jeremy's chair.

"Liz Forbes has never been one to be lazy," I said, draining my glass. Stefan gave me a worried look that I decided to ignore. I was almost twenty-five. I could drink as much as I wanted.

"Hey, guys, dinner's ready," a tall, handsome man, Alaric, I assumed, announced.

Everyone made their way into the dining room with me bringing up the rear.

"You must be Caroline," Alaric said, holding out his hand.

I smiled and took it as he ushered me in so he could close the door. Alaric was handsome enough. He was tall with floppy hair that seemed strange for his age. He was a few years older than Damon, but almost ten years older than me, I estimated. He had the same look as Damon –slightly dangerous with a hint of mischief.

"You must be Alaric," I said, dropping his hand.

"Ric," he corrected. "Damon's business partner."

I snorted. "I feel sorry for you."

Ric smiled. "I've been friends with worse."

"Oh my god! Caroline!"

I felt a pair of skinny arms around me. Elena.

"I wanted to come see you yesterday after Bon and Jeremy told me you were in town, but everything at the bakery is so crazy," she said. She let me go and tugged a lock of her long brown hair behind her ear.

A part of me will always want to compete with Elena. Everyone has that one friend that you are in an unspoken competition with, but I think Elena has finally won. She is still absurdly gorgeous, has a lovely house, got a husband that has loved her since she was fifteen, has loyal friends, and a steady job. I didn't even have a car.

"I've heard so much about this bakery," I said to cover my self-loathing.

Elena pulled out her chair and motioned for me to sit next to her.

"I opened it just this last year," she said.

"Oh, so, it's yours?" I asked. Looks, house, husband, friends, own business.

"Yeah," she said with a proud grin. "Damon and I finally decided we were in the right place for me to start it instead of just cooking for the bar."

I gave her a tense smile. "Great."

"What about you?" she asked. "What have you been up to?"

I swallowed hard.

"So," Stefan said loudly from the head of the table. "What have you made for us today, Elena?"

"Well, we're going to start with a light spinach salad with almonds and a vinaigrette," she explained gesturing to the salad bowls in front of us. "Then, for dinner, I've grilled chicken with a new teriyaki marinade I've been working on with sautéed green beans, roasted potatoes, and homemade rolls. Then, lemon sponge cake with a raspberry glaze."

"Let's eat then!" Rebekah announced, gracefully starting on her salad.

Dinner went along without incident. It was polite conversation. I was able to steer the conversation away from myself mostly. It made me thankful that people were generally self-centered. Also, my friends had plenty to brag about. Their lives were amazing. Bonnie was a second grade teacher at Mystic Elementary. Elena was working on the council for the Founder's Day celebration in April. Even Rebekah was working for the interior design firm in town and was finally given her own project just last week.

By the time we got to dessert, I was feeling a bit queasy and more like a loser than I already did.

"Hey, everyone," Stefan said, wiping his mouth with his napkin then placing it on the table. "There's actually a reason I've asked you to come here, and it wasn't so Elena could try out her new recipes."

I looked at Stefan and his smile down towards Rebekah.

No.

"I've actually got some big news, and I'm so glad to finally be able to tell you."

No.

"Rebekah and I are getting married."

No.

I heard squeals from Elena and Bonnie as they went to examine Rebekah's ring, which she had slipped on under the table.

"You might want to breathe," Damon leaned over to say.

I took a deep breath because I had actually forgotten to breathe. My best friend was getting married. My best friend was getting _married_.

"Tell Stefan I had to go," I said. I got to my feet, but Damon grabbed my wrist.

"No, Blondie," Damon said, tugging me down to his level. "He's been wanting to tell you for weeks, but you've been your usual selfish, bitchy self. Give him this night before you continue to be selfish. He deserves that, especially from you."

He was right. I knew he was, but that didn't make me feel any better. It didn't make it any better.

"Caroline!" Stefan said coming over to me. Damon dropped my wrist.

"Stefan!" I said back. I plastered a smile on my face and threw my arms around him. If he looked at me too long, he would know.

"I finally did it," he said.

He pulled me back. I smiled again.

"I'm glad you're happy," I said. I was. Stefan deserved to be happy. Even if Rebekah was Queen Bitch of Bitchy Town.

"You'll be a grooms-lady for me, right?" he asked.

I couldn't help it. I laughed at grooms-lady.

"Rebekah's going to allow me to be in the wedding?" I asked.

Stefan rolled his eyes. "She knows how important you are to me. Besides, you know her. She'll find something else to focus on soon enough. She's already had ten freak outs about planning the thing."

Typical.

"Of course, I will," I said. "I don't have to wear a suit though right?"

Stefan snorted. "No."

"Good," I said. I looked down at my watch, and pretended to be surprised at the time. "I didn't know it was already past nine. I told mom I would be back soon."

Stefan frowned. "Really?"

"Something about mother/daughter bonding or something," I said with an eye roll.

"Do you need a ride or anything?" he asked.

"No, no," I said. "You stay here and celebrate with Rebekah. This is your night."

"I'll call you tomorrow," Stefan said, pulling me into a hug.

I nodded into his shoulder and kissed his cheek before I pulled too far away.

"Congrats, Stef," I said. "You deserve all the happiness in the world."

"So do you, Care."

I gave a half-smile and slyly made my way out of the dining room.

I grabbed my purse from the living room and made my way out into the crisp air.

I was happy for Stefan. Really I was. Even if he was engaged to the British devil, I was glad that he was making a life for himself. He and Rebekah had been together for almost a decade. I was surprised she had waited for his proposal this long. She must actually love him.

What was a love like that really like? I thought I had that with Tyler, but I was obviously wrong.

I continued to think to myself as I wandered down the street to my house. I eventually had to take off my shoes because even perfect Caroline couldn't' handle a long walk in heels on the stupid cobblestone sidewalks in the old part of town.

"You need a ride, darling?" a voice called from a car on the other side of the road.

I stopped in my tracks. I knew that voice anywhere. I didn't think I would ever hear it again.

It belonged to my ex-boyfriend, Kol.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I don't own any of the characters. I feel like I'm supposed to say that, but I feel like you guys knew that. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Just what I needed right now to see his smug, stupid, asshole-ish face.

"Come on, sweetheart," he said, leaning across the passenger seat. "Get in the car."

"You sound like more of a pervert than usual, Kol," I said, continuing down the sidewalk in the opposite direction of which he was going.

However, he reversed to follow me.

"Caroline, love, get in the car," he said.

"You remember who I am?" I asked in mock shock. "I'm honored!"

I heard his snort, and he continued to reverse to follow me.

"You look worse for the wear, darling," he noted. I could feel his eyes running over my body.

"Go away, Kol," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Must have come from my charming sister's party," he said.

I didn't respond.

"Running a bit late, myself," he said.

Nope. He wasn't getting me to talk.

"How did you like the news?" he asked. "Bekah told the family last week."

I stopped, and I heard the brakes of Kol's car squeak to a stop. I walked over in irritation to the window of Kol's black Camaro.

"How long have they been engaged?" I asked.

"Finally decided to talk to me, darling?" he said with a pompous smirk.

"How long have they been engaged?" I repeated.

Kol's face twisted. "About a month. Beks wanted the job promotion before she told the family. Didn't your bitch boy Stefan tell you the moment it happened?"

A month. Stefan had been engaged for a month, and he hadn't told me. He had thought I was such a mess that I couldn't handle this news. My best friend thought I was too messed up for regular life.

"You alright, Caroline?" Kol asked.

"You want to get a drink?" I asked suddenly.

Kol raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes or no, Kol," I demanded.

"Get in."

"_Oooo Barracuda!_" I sang, twisting and dancing. I shot another round of tequila, and Kol laughed.

"Might want to slow down, darling," he commented. His eyes were trailing my hips as I danced.

"Kol Mikaelson telling someone to slow down on the partying?" I asked, coming closer to his face. "Has he actually grown up?"

Kol smirked. "Not likely, darling," he said. "I just don't think I'll have the willpower to get you home if you keep going at this speed. You know you don't handle tequila well."

I scowled. "Maybe my tolerance has gotten better since we dated."

Kol laughed. "Love, if you screaming Bennie and the Jets earlier is any indication, I don't think it has."

I frowned. "Why aren't you more drunk?"

"I don't get drunk," he said. He put his hand on mine that was rested on the tabletop. I tried not to focus on it. "Besides somebody has to make sure you don't drink yourself to death."

"Caroline Forbes would never do such a thing," I said, ripping my hand out from under his and spinning around. "Now come dance with me, asshole."

Kol grinned and got up to follow me out to the dance floor.

The Mystic Grill wasn't known for dancing, but at eleven on a Thursday, not many people took notice of Kol and me grinding in the open space between tables.

If I wasn't as drunk as I was, I would have been disappointed in myself for being here with Kol. In high school, Kol and I dated for almost six months just after he moved to Mystic Falls. He was British and hot. He was still British and hot, but now I knew he was an ass. He had cheated on me for almost the entirety of our relationship. Kol might have been a sex god, but he knew it and it made him much less attractive. However, right now, with his hands on my waist, I found myself not caring that he was a horrible person.

"Hey, guys, it's closing time," a man said from behind Kol. "I'm going have to ask you to close out your tab and head on out."

I turned around and put my hands on Kol's chest, and he rested his forehead on mine.

"Mikaelson," the man said again more sternly.

"Put it on my card," Kol said, not breaking eye contact with me. "You have the number."

The man huffed and walked away.

"You coming home with me, Caroline?" he asked, running a hand up my back.

In the back of my mind, I knew this was a bad idea. I was sober enough to know that. This was Kol. He had pissed me off so badly in high school, and I couldn't stand him until he left for private school in our senior year. Now, here I was broken, and he was still showing some interest in me. Well, he would have been interested in anything in a dress, but it had been a long time since I felt like I was this attractive. It wasn't as though I wanted Kol in any other way than what he was asking. I couldn't handle anymore than that. Not now. Maybe not ever again.

In response, I kissed him, and he kissed me back. I knew it was a mistake. I just added it to my list.

Kol fell asleep around two. Even though I knew my mom wouldn't be home, I couldn't will myself to go home, but I couldn't bring myself to stay in bed with Kol either. I pulled on Kol's boxers and his t-shirt and padded to the kitchen.

Kol's apartment was nicer than any other in Mystic Falls. It was on the outskirts of town and was very modern. It was full of windows and painted in varying shades of gray. It was expensive and let you know it. Just like Kol.

My head was only slightly throb-y as I looked through the fridge. I pulled out one of the beers, grabbed one of the bags of chips on the counter, and made my way into the living room. I flung my dress off my side of the couch and clicked on the TV. I turned it on E! to watch one of the reruns of the Kardashians while I munched on the chips.

"Who are you?" a voice said from behind the couch. I jumped.

The man was fairly tall and had curly blonde hair. He had on an expensive looking suit and was carrying a briefcase like he was getting home from work. Who gets off work at two in the morning?

"I'm with Kol," I said. "Who are you?"

"My bloody brother," the man growled, throwing his briefcase on the kitchen table.

"Excuse me," I said, forgetting that I was in Kol's underwear and standing up.

"This is my apartment," he said, gesturing wildly around him. "My brother takes my invitation to stay here a bit to literally when he has a conquest."

I flinched backwards like he hit me.

"What? Did you think Kol and you were going to live happily ever after?" he asked with fake sympathy.

"Excuse you," I said, going to stand in front of him. I didn't realize how tall he was until I was standing in front of him and poking him in the chest. "I dated Kol in high school. I'm fully aware he is a bastard. I don't need you to tell me, thank you. Kol won't be able to live happily ever after with any one but himself."

The Kol's brother surprised me by smiling. It wasn't a full out grin or even a full smile. It was an almost insulting half-smile.

"You want a drink?" he asked, going to a cabinet and pulling out an almost full bottle of whiskey.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

He looked at me over his shoulder and gave me that half-smirk again. "A drink. Do you want one?"

"I helped myself to a beer earlier," I said.

He turned around with a tumbler in his hand.

"What were you watching before I interrupted?" he asked, gesturing to the couch and the TV with his drinking hand.

"Just a stupid reality show," I said. What was happening? Was I a welcomed guest now?

He walked to the couch and sat down. He pulled my blue dress out from under him and looked over at me with a quirked eyebrow.

That was embarrassing, but he didn't need to know that. I shrugged and joined him on the couch. I pulled my legs under me and grabbed my beer.

"I'm Niklaus, by the way," he said, holding out his hand. "You can call me Klaus."

Klaus was one of Rebekah's older brothers. I think Stefan had told me that Klaus was a lawyer, a pretty ruthless one at that. He had made partner when he was 28, which was almost unheard of, apparently. It didn't seem to fit the man who was sitting on the other side of the couch from me.

I took Klaus's hand, and it was creepily smooth for a man's hand.

"Caroline," I said, dropping his hand.

"You wouldn't happen to be the Caroline my sister is always blathering on about, would you?" he asked, taking a swig from his drink.

I rolled my eyes at the thought of Rebekah. "Probably," I said.

Klaus snorted. "I'm even more pleased to meet you then."

We watched the Kardashians in silence for a moment.

"I thought Kim married someone named Kris. Is her mother's name Kris too? That's-."

"What's your deal?" I snapped.

Klaus smirked. "What?"

"You get mad that I'm here, but I call your brother a bastard and you offer me a drink and start watching the Kardashians. What's your deal?"

"You have fire," Klaus said. "I like that. You are an unexpected person for my brother to be with. You earned my respect by standing up for yourself. Which is difficult since you obviously just slept with him."

I wouldn't have needed to stand up for myself if he hadn't been making assumptions. I gave him a glare then went back to my perched position watching the Kardashians.

"Have I offended you?"

"No," I said through my teeth.

"Alright."

"No, you know what?" I said, slapping my hands on either side of myself. "All you Mikaelsons do is get under people's skin, and it's a really shitty trait."

It was true. First it was Rebekah, then Kol. Now, what Klaus had said was going to eat at me. The Mikaelsons just seemed to know just what to say or do to make me feel insecure. I was always having to defend myself. I was tired. I was tired before I moved back home.

"I've gotten under your skin? I just met you five minutes ago."

"You know exactly what I mean," I said. I struggled to my feet.

"Caroline," Klaus called. "What did I -?"

"Nothing, okay?" I said, making my way back to Kol's room. I didn't want to be there, but being in there with him was better than being out here with Klaus. It wasn't as though he had said anything to upset me. It was just this day. It would never be over.

"Caroline?"

"Just stop. It's not you, okay? It's me. It's just me," I said, almost running away from him.

When I got to Kol's room, I shut the door gently behind me.

"Come back to bed," Kol moaned from underneath his pillow.

I leaned against the door. I could feel Klaus just outside the door. I wished I hadn't yelled at him. It really wasn't him. It was me. I was so messed up that I couldn't even have a conversation like a normal person.

"Caroline, don't make me get up to get you," Kol mumbled.

I padded over to the opposite side of the bed and climbed in. I turned on my side and felt Kol's arm go around my waist. I curled into the fetal position and rested my hand on Kol's. I knew there was no love in the gesture, but I could pretend. I needed it right now, but it wasn't enough.

* * *

**A/N: Well, that took an unexpected turn, didn't it? Don't worry. There's a reason the main characters are listed as Caroline and Klaus. Please review, if you want to. I've learned that I kind of like reading those.**


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up early the next morning after a terrible night of sleep. Kol was still passed out on his stomach with his mouth open. He looked almost innocent when he was asleep. A Mikaelson innocent. I make myself laugh sometimes.

I sat up in bed and listened to see if I could hear Klaus in the kitchen, but I couldn't. I didn't want to take the chance of another awkward run in with him. I had embarrassed myself enough. It was after eight. I decided he had already gone back to work. Time to wake Kol up then.

I whacked him with my pillow.

"Ah," Kol groaned.

"I need a ride," I said.

Kol turned to give me a sleepy grin. "Do you now?"

I rolled my eyes. "I need a ride home, perv."

Kol sighed and settle back into the bed. He patted my knee. "Go back to sleep. I'll take you later."

I whacked him again. "Now, Kol."

"Jesus," Kol said, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. "You're awfully grumpy to have been sexed last night."

I hit him with the pillow a little harder than the last two times.

"Stop hitting me!" he said, putting a hand on his face.

I got out of the bed and went to one of his chest of drawers. "I'm borrowing some of your sweats."

He grumbled in response.

I dug through a few drawers until I finally found a few pairs of sweatpants and pulled out a black pair that would be okay with Kol's gray t-shirt.

"You sure you don't want another round before you change?" he asked with a grin.

I walked over to the bed, grabbed the pillow, and hit him so hard that he fell off the bed.

"God, Caroline!"

I let myself a lingering look at his bare backside. He might have been a jerk, but his bum was nice. I slipped off his boxers and threw them at him. I pulled on the sweatpants (Armani. I didn't even know Armani made sweatpants), rolled up the waistband, and pulled up my hair into a high ponytail. Kol hadn't moved.

"Kol, come on," I said, going to his side of the bed and nudging his foot with mine.

Kol grumbled but pulled on his boxers.

I had forgotten how much Kol loved rap music until we were coasting down First Street with the windows down and the music blaring. I tried not to think how many people were watching the black Camaro fly down the street. I rested my chin on the door and felt the wind on my face. Kol pulled into the driveway to my house, and I was relieved not to see my mom's cruiser.

This was easily the most awkward part of this whole situation. One night stands were inherently awkward when they were over, but this was Kol. I had no reason to feel awkward…right? I mean, it was Kol.

"Mind if I come in?" Kol asked.

I thought about it for a moment. Did I really want to be alone right now? Was Kol really better than alone?

"We don't have any food," I said.

"That's fine."

"I won't have sex with you again."

"I know."

"Fine."

I opened my door and got out. Kol turned off the car and followed. I unlocked the door and ushered him in.

"Looks the same as it did in high school," he said.

"Because it is," I said. I closed the door behind me and went to the fridge. I pulled out a bottle of water and threw one to Kol. He caught it with a crazy amount of agility.

"Does that creepy ass cat still hang out on your porch?"

I laughed. "Princess Lady? Yes!"

Kol smiled and took a drink of his water.

There was a moment when we didn't say anything. It wasn't uncomfortable, which make it uncomfortable to me.

"Listen, Caroline, I know we're not-," Kol started.

"Don't," I warned. I knew where he was going, and I didn't want to hear it. I didn't need Kol Mikaelson of all people to feel bad for me.

"Don't what?"

"Don't pretend to care," I said.

"Care—."

"No," I said sternly. "Don't."

"I'm trying, okay?" Kol said. "I heard you talking to Klaus last night-."

"Seriously?!" I yelled. "All I wanted was sex, Kol. You aren't capable of more. I don't want any more. I know not to expect more from you."

I felt so irritated that tears were welling up in my eyes.

"What happened to you?" Kol asked. He sounded almost surprised.

"Life."

"You're Caroline!" Kol exclaimed. I jumped. "You're better than life! When we were in high school-."

"We're not in high school anymore, Kol! You need to realize that!"

"I need to realize that?" Kol asked.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You can't be perfect at everything like you were in high school, Caroline. The real world isn't high school," Kol said. "I don't know what happened, but just because something went wrong doesn't mean-."

"Something?" I shouted. "Everything went wrong!"

"What happened?"

"I lost my fiancé, then my job, then apartment," I said. "I was supposed to be better than this! I'm twenty- four! I was supposed to have everything figured out! I was supposed to be settled! I was-."

I stopped talking when I felt Kol's arms around me. He held me, and I put my arms around him. I couldn't stop my tears, so I hid my face in the crook of his neck.

"God, this is pathetic!" I shouted, ripping away from him.

"It's not." He grabbed my elbow before I could get too far away.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand.

"Caroline," Kol said. "You can't beat yourself up over this. You can still make the best out of this."

"I never wanted-."

"Caroline, so your plans have unraveled," Kol said. "That's when the best stuff happens. You just have to try to move on."

"I don't want to," I said.

"No one can make you, Caroline," Kol said. "I'm an expert at avoiding growing up, and I will continue to do that for as long as possible. But you're better than me. You better than having sex with me to forget your troubles for a moment. It doesn't matter what has happened to you in the past few years. You're still better. You're still Caroline."

I didn't stop myself from hugging him.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I asked.

"You need it," he said. "And someone needed to tell you haven't fucked yourself over."

I snorted as I released from our hug.

"Besides, I owed you one," he said, pushing my shoulder with a wink.

"You're better than you act too," I said.

Kol smiled. "No, I'm not."

I laughed. "No, you're not."

He laughed with me.

"So, do you still "hate" me and wish I would "get my manparts would get mangled"?" he asked, air-quoting appropriately.

"Stefan?"

"Rebekah."

I laughed. "Not so much any more."

"Glad to hear that."

"Friends?" I asked tentatively.

"Sure," he said. "I don't have too many of those."

"Me either," I said, holding out my hand for him to shake.

"This is weird," he said, taking my hand. I nodded in agreement.

Becoming friends with a Mikaelson. What was going to happen next?

* * *

**A/N: Sorry, guys. My love of Kol was showing just a bit in this chapter, but I think so much could have been done for his character on the show. I think he's much more than the obnoxious, little brother original. Anyway, hope you liked it, and Caroline is slowly sorting herself out! Review, if you'd like! **


	6. Chapter 6

With Kol's words fresh in my mind, I found myself walking down Main Street towards the general location of Elena's bakery. I had washed my hair and put on my favorite pair of jeans. I had used my curling iron for the first time in two weeks. I was going to put on a brave face. I wasn't going to be pathetic Caroline anymore.

I stopped in front of cute storefront that was decorated with reds and cream. _Doppelgänger Delights_. I rolled my eyes only Elena.

I was greeted with a tinkle of a small bell as I opened the door to the shop. It wasn't very busy, but it was between breakfast and lunch. However, there were a few people mingling around, munching on some pastries.

"Caroline!" Elena greeted from the swinging kitchen door. Her arms were full of trays.

I smiled and rushed to help her.

"Thanks," she smiled. "Jer had to go help out Damon today, so I'm alone except for April." She gestured to a small, dark-haired girl through the opening to the kitchen.

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," I said as she unloaded the goodies on one of the trays into the already stocked display cabinets.

Elena stopped to give me a curious look.

I took a deep breath. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind giving me a job."

I could almost see the wheels turning in her mind.

"It's just that I don't have one, and I worked for a restaurant when I was in college," I babbled. "I know a bakery is different than a restaurant, but I feel like I can-."

"Caroline," Elena interrupted, laughing. "Of course, you can have a job. I was thinking about hiring someone new anyway since April is headed off to college soon."

"Really?" I asked in disbelief. In New York, it took months to get a job. You didn't just walk into a place and get one.

Elena laughed. "Totally," she said, going back to filling the cabinet. "You wouldn't want to start today, would you? With Jeremy out, the lunch rush is going to be terrible."

"Sure," I said, straightening my top. "Just tell me what you want me to do."

"That'll be $6.77, please," I said as I took my millionth lunch order. I thought Elena had been kidding about the lunch rush. Lunch rush was not a joke.

"Is there extra mustard on this like I asked?" the older lady asked me. She was dangling the seven dollars just out of my reach.

"Yes, ma'am, and six pickles," I responded with a fake smile.

She gave me a creepy grimace. "Thata girl. Keep the change."

As she walked away I dropped the twenty-three cents in the communal tip jar. She was the last person in line. The store was finally calm just before two-thirty.

"How's it going?" Elena asked, popping out of the kitchen will a box of chips to restock the shelves.

"I didn't even know there were this many people in Mystic Falls," I said, as I grabbed a few of the small chip bags to refill the taller shelves.

"Business has been good," Elena said. "I'm not complaining one bit."

We both turned as the bell tingled over the door.

Klaus.

"Usual, Klaus?" Elena asked, abandoning our restocking task.

"Roast beef on rye-."

"With oil, pepper, and extra cheese," Elena finished.

"Am I that predictable?" Klaus called as Elena disappeared into the kitchen.

"Afraid so!" she shouted back.

I quickly returned to the chips. I did not want to see him. The last time I had seen him, I had been in his brother's underwear and a weepy mess. I didn't want him to-.

"Well, if it isn't Caroline," he said just behind me.

I turned around and gave him a surprised smile. He raised an eyebrow.

"Hi," I exhaled.

"I wasn't aware you worked here."

He was wearing another suit. This one was dark navy and tailored perfectly. You could say a lot against the Mikaelson boys, but they had great bods.

"Started about four hours ago," I said.

"Good for you," he said. He sounded like he really meant it.

I bit my lip at the awkward air between us. Don't mention last night, Don't mention last night, I chanted in my head.

"About last-."

"It's fine!" I interrupted a little to loudly. Klaus gave me a wide-eyed look of surprise. "I'm fine. Just a little episode!" I laughed uneasily.

"You're an interesting bird, Caroline," he said. I gave him a confused look, but he continued to study me.

"All ready, Klaus!" Elena announced suddenly reappearing.

Klaus fished a twenty out of his wallet and handed it to Elena.

"Keep it," he said.

"Klaus, it's only-."

"I know, Elena," he said. His eyes trailed to me. "Keep it."

He grabbed his bag. Just before he walked out of the door, he gave me a final glance and smirk.

He said, "See you soon, Caroline." Then he was gone.

Damn.

"Someone's already on the prowl," Elena commented, coming back to help me with the chips.

I finally remembered to breathe.

"Hardly," I said, squishing some kettle chips onto the shelf.

Elena laughed. "Good."

"Why?"

"Klaus is a good customer and great friend to Stefan," Elena said, standing on her toes to put some Sun Chips up. "He comes in nearly everyday, which I appreciate, but he goes through a woman a week, if not faster."

Typical Mikaelson. I really shouldn't have been surprised.

"He's also very standoffish, if you don't interact with him regularly," she continued. "Snappy and irritable."

"I'm not interested," I said, pulling the final bags out of the box. I was not interested in his fancy apartment or suits, or his pretty blue eyes, or his cute butt. No. I would not be interested.

Elena gave me a look.

"I've got too much to get on track," I said. "I don't need to be concerned about dating another Mikaelson."

She didn't need to know I slept with Kol last night. It didn't really count, anyway. I was new, improving Caroline now. Clean slate.

"Still holding a grudge against, Kol?" she asked with a grin.

I rolled my eyes. "Not so much anymore," I said.

"You ran out of Stefan's last night so fast that I didn't really get to talk to you," she said, putting the box on the food window. April grabbed it and put it in next to the trash. Elena went to busy herself rearranging the pastries.

I took a deep breath. "Yeah," I said. "Had to rush home to spend time with Mom."

"Damon and I came by after to bring you some of the sponge cake, and no one was home," she noted, giving me a look.

Shit.

"Well, uh, I," I stuttered.

"Caroline, Stefan didn't go into detail about why you're back home," she said. "But don't think we're judging you."

"I don't think-."

"Caroline, I've known you since I was born," Elena said. "I know you think that we think badly of you for coming home. We don't. We've missed you, and we're glad we're glad you're back."

"Rebekah judges me," I said.

Elena stopped rearranging and gave me a look. "Rebekah judges everybody."

I laughed, and Elena joined me.

"But seriously, Caroline," Elena said. "We're all here for you. Just because we haven't kept in touch doesn't mean we've stopped being friends."

Throughout high school, I had always felt like Elena was the fake nice girl. She was always my friend, but we were always in competition. I thought she was just nice to me to figure out my weakness, so she could always be one step ahead of me. Was she actually this nice? Did she actually completely care about me? Was she actually a true friend?

"Thanks, Lena," I said. I went to give her a hug and decided to trust her. I mean, I made friends with Kol Mikaelson this morning. Was making true friends with Elena Gilbert really crazier than that? "Thanks for helping me."

"Of course, Care," she said, pulling out of the hug. "Best friends forever, right?" She held out her pinkie to me, and I smiled. It was our handshake that she, Bonnie, and I created in third grade. I connected my pinkie with hers, and we bit our thumbs lightly. We grinned at each other.

"Best friends forever," I repeated.

* * *

**A/N: Yay! Finally an almost happy Caroline! It's about time, right? Review, if you'd like!**


	7. Chapter 7

The next couple of weeks were basically filled with me trying to get into a routine. I would work at the bakery from nine until seven, then I would go home and try to get my room settled in. I had even tortured myself by going grocery shopping, which sucked because half of my high school class seemed to be working there. At least I didn't have to depend on leftovers from the bakery to survive after that.

I hadn't talked to Stefan since the night of his engagement announcement. It wasn't for lack of his trying. He called me everyday for the first week after, but I didn't answer. Just because I was trying to be new, improved Caroline didn't mean I was any less mad at Stefan for keeping me in the dark about his engagement to Rebekah for a MONTH. What kind of best friend does that? He was supposed to be the one that treated me normally regardless of how messed up I got. He had let me down, and I needed a break.

I guessed that Elena had told him to cool it after I went on a rant one day at work about his constant phone calling. It had been two days since he last called, and I was finally calming down.

In Stefan's absence, I had seen Kol. I don't mean seeing Kol; I mean, I had invited him to go out with me to dinner a few times and had made him try some of the disgusting homemade pizza I had tried to make on Thursday. Kol was by no means replacing Stefan, but I felt like I could truly be my messed up self around him without him thinking badly about me. That was one of the things I was learning to like about Kol. Everything was upfront about him. He knew he wasn't the best person on the planet, but he didn't pretend to be anything he wasn't. He didn't judge me. I was surprised how much I liked that.

Speaking of Mikaelsons, I had seen Klaus almost everyday at the bakery. Elena wasn't kidding when she said he was a regular. He came in almost everyday just after two to get his roast beef sandwich, except for one day when Elena told him I had tried to make the éclairs and he added one of those to his order. The older Mikaelson was a bit of an enigma. Elena didn't seem to know very much about him besides the fact that he worked down the street at the Fell, Fell, and Mikaelson Law Firm, and he was a good friend of Stefan's since he moved back to town. I tried to ask Kol about him once, but he said trying to get a Mikaelson to give information on another Mikaelson was like trying to get the secret service to give up information about the whereabouts of the president. So he wasn't helpful.

Today was my fifteenth day working at the bakery, and also the day I got my first paycheck.

"Moment of truth," Elena said at five til seven waving an envelope in front of me with a grin.

"Why moment of truth?" I asked, grabbing the envelope trying to not to seem too eager.

"It's the moment where you decide if you want to keep working for me when I can only pay you minimum wage," she said.

"Plus tips," I reminded with a wink as I opened the envelope.

$496. I made $496 in two weeks! And I could save it all if I wanted! I didn't have a $2000 a month studio apartment to keep up or bills! I squealed and jumped up and down.

Elena laughed. "Good to know it doesn't take much to keep you happy nowadays."

I grinned widely.

"You wouldn't want to come to the house tonight to celebrate, would you?" she asked. She went over to the door and flipped the open sign to closed.

I had successfully been able to avoid going over to Damon and Elena's. It was one thing to work with Elena everyday. I was adjusting to that. I didn't want to see the perfect life Elena had been able to create for herself, but I knew my luck was going to be running out soon.

"Sure," I said with a tight smile.

Elena gave me a genuine smile. "Yay! I put a roast in the Crock Pot this morning and made Damon promise not to touch it, so it should still be edible," she said. She laughed.

"What time should I…?"

"Oh, I'll give you a ride!" Elena said quickly. Too quickly.

"Alright," I said slowly and suspiciously. "Thanks."

She had something planned. I didn't think I was going to like it.

"And here's the dining room," Elena said, gesturing with a glass of red wine. "Damon took some of the furniture from his dad's house, and we refinished it."

I nodded and took a deep drink of my wine. Elena had been showing me the house while Damon had busied himself setting the table and not touching the roast. Growing up, the Gilbert house had always been an almost dream house to me. Not only did the perfect family live there, but the house itself was perfect. Not to big or too small. It was almost a hundred years old, but it was always modernly decorated. Now, Elena had turned it into one big Pinterest project, and it was gorgeous. Elena had obviously taken Damon's feelings into account and the colors of the walls were still fairly manly—reds, creams, light browns—even the furniture in the common areas had a masculine feel. However, Elena got her revenge with the floral, light blue master bedroom.

"It's awesome, Lena," I said. It was awesome. She and Damon had definitely put a lot of time—and money—into fixing everything up.

Elena exhaled with pleasure. "Thanks. Damon's really proud of it. He did all the tile work and molding himself. He even refinished the beams in the living room."

It must be nice to have someone you could be this proud of. I was like that once with…Well, I wasn't like that anymore, and I wasn't the person any one bragged about anymore.

"Bragging about me?" Damon asked, coming up behind Elena and kissing her head. It was so sweet I wanted to barf.

"Just telling Care about the house," Elena said with a shrug. "You ready to eat?"

"I've been ready all day since you put that roast on before we left this morning," he said. "Will you allow me to grab the Crock Pot and bring it in here, so we can eat?"

Elena gave a fake sigh. "I guess."

Damon disappeared.

"More wine?" Elena asked, gesturing for me to find a seat.

"You trying to get me drunk?" I asked. I had already had two glasses

"Since you have to help me open tomorrow morning, no," she said with a laugh, but filled up my glass. I took a long sip.

"Caroline," a voice said from the doorway. Stefan.

"Elena," I said in disbelief. She had legitimately tricked me into having to see Stefan.

"Sorry," she said quickly. "He was really persistent!"

I shot her a glare.

"Care, can we talk please?" he asked.

Damon bustled in with his hands full of Crock Pot. "Stefan finally came out of hiding," he noted, placing the dish on a stack of hot pads.

"Damon," Elena reprimanded. Damon rolled his eyes, but went to stand behind his wife's chair.

"Care," Stefan called again.

"Fine," I asked, abandoning my wine glass and following him into the living room.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about me and Rebekah," he said as soon as we were out of earshot of the dining room.

I crossed my arms. "You were the one person I trusted to be honest with me, Stefan," I said. "You were the one person I trusted in general, and I had to find out from Kol that you had been engaged for a MONTH?"

"Listen, Caroline, Kol said-."

"Kol?" I asked in outrage. "What did Kol say?"

"Kol said," Stefan repeated sternly since I interrupted, "that I should apologize for not telling you about the engagement. I had no idea what I had done to you, Caroline. One day, I'm picking you up from the airport and the next you won't even talk to me! I had to ask someone. Elena had no idea, and Kol seems to be the only other person you talk to these days."

"Because my best friend doesn't confide in me anymore," I said aggressively.

"You try taking a call from your best friend at three in the morning after she's found her fiancé cheating on her," Stefan challenged. "On the same night you've proposed to your girlfriend. Would you really have been happy to receive the news, Caroline?"

Well, no.

"What about the month since, Stefan?" I asked. "You had an entire month."

"Shit, Caroline!" Stefan said finally losing it. "Your life fell apart after Tyler. You had enough to deal with without me bragging about finally moving on with Rebekah. I was doing what I thought was best for you!"

"Did you really think I would be so selfish that I wouldn't have been happy for you?" I asked.

"Caroline-."

"Yes or no, Stefan?" I asked.

"It's just that-."

Oh, God. Even my best friend thought I was a self-absorbed selfish bitch. He thought I would have ruined his happiness. Well, I wouldn't do that anymore. I walked back to the dining room.

"I'm going to take a rain check on dinner," I said to Elena. She and Damon stopped mid-conversation.

"Caroline, I'm sor-."

"It's really not your fault, Elena," I said, grabbing my purse. "Thank you for…Just thanks. See you in the morning."

Elena nodded with a concerned look on her face.

"Caroline, please, just-," Stefan tried as I opened the front door.

"Don't worry about it, Stefan," I said. "I don't want to ruin your happiness anymore. Have a fantastic life with Rebekah." I tried not to slam the door behind me, but I failed.

As I walked down the street towards my house, I realized that this seemed to be becoming a trend for me. Stalking out of dinner parties and walking home alone. I didn't want this trend to become a tradition. I took out my phone and tried to call Kol but got his voicemail. I wasn't really surprised. It was eight on a Friday. He was probably busy, and not the kind of busy I wanted to interrupt. I crossed my arms as I walked on.

I felt a car slow beside me, and I got nervous. Mystic Falls was friendly, but not creepy, slowing car beside a young woman, friendly. It was a slick, black two-door Mercedes. The window rolled down on the passenger side.

"You need a ride, love?"

I almost laughed at the irony. It was Klaus. This night just kept getting better.

"How do you Mikaelson boys seem to always find me walking home from a disastrous night?" I asked him.

He grinned. "We have a radar."

"A Caroline Forbes crappy night radar?" I asked.

Klaus's grin grew. "Something like that."

The way he said that, all deep and British, made me shiver.

"That's really nice of you, Klaus," I said. "But I don't get in cars with strange men."

Klaus laughed. "Probably a good rule," he said. "But I'm not really a stranger, am I?

"I don't know anything about you," I responded. "Except that you really like roast beef sandwiches."

He smiled. "What if I say that I just want you to get home safely and that I won't try anything, will you get in the car?"

"That's exactly what a predator would say, isn't it?" I countered.

"Perhaps," he agreed, putting the car in park and turning it off.

I looked at him in surprise when he got out of the car and joined me on the sidewalk.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Making sure you get home safely," he said. "You won't get in the car, so it appears we are walking."

"I don't think you can park here," I said.

"I'm one of the most successful lawyers in town, Caroline," he said. "I believe I can get myself out of one parking ticket for walking the sheriff's daughter home."

"Really," I said. "This is Mystic Falls. I don't think anything will happen to me."

"You never know," Klaus said cryptically. "Now, which way are we going?"

* * *

**A/N: Yay for another Klaus/ Caroline interaction! The next chapter is a continuation of this one and might be one of my favorite Klaus/Caroline moments I written so far. So stay tuned! Review, if you would like!**


	8. Chapter 8

To say that walking with Klaus was awkward would be an understatement on my part. It wasn't that he was awkward. He wasn't awkward at all. In fact, he was strangely self-assured. For all the confidence I lacked, Klaus seemed to have. He almost seemed to strut instead of walk.

Caroline Forbes, however, could not have been more uncomfortable. I felt inferior to him in his tailored suit and me in my jeans and cute top. Even my favorite brown boots seemed underwhelming to his shiny black dress shoes. I even stumbled on a rock just down the street from my house. How embarrassing.

Even more embarrassing, Klaus caught me under my elbow.

"It's just not your night, sweetheart," he said, helping me straighten up.

"You're telling me," I said, straightening my top unnecessarily. I ran a hand through my hair before I started walking again.

"You've been awfully quiet during our lovely walk," he noted. "Have I proven myself friendly enough to hear about your evening?"

"I don't think you really want to hear about my problems," I said, turning down my driveway.

"Give me a bit of credit, Caroline," he said. "I've seen you almost everyday for two weeks. I think I've earned a little information about you."

I chuckled. "You've also seen me in your brother's underwear," I said. "But we won't mention that."

Klaus laughed. "Noted."

We climbed the steps to my house, and I fished out my keys.

"Lucky for me we've safely made it to my house," I said. "So I shall stay a mystery to you."

"You could always invite me in for a thank you cup of coffee," he said.

The look he was giving me was a mix between hurt puppy and hopeful little boy. It took a lot to resist it.

"I'm not really dating right now," I said.

"I wasn't asking you on a date," he said. I felt him move closer to me. I swallowed.

"I don't know that it would be the best idea to have you in my house," I said. Where there was my bed. I felt my heartbeat quicken, but I wasn't afraid. I was a different kind of excited.

Klaus grinned. "Another time then," he said, moving away from me.

That was much easier than I expected.

Klaus seemed to sense my surprise and leaned over to whisper in my ear, "I'm afraid your mother has just pulled up."

I looked over his shoulder to see my mother, with a severely irritated expression directed towards me, getting out of her cruiser. I didn't know if I was happy or upset to see her.

"Um, thanks for walking me home," I said, holding out my hand.

Klaus looked down at my hand and smiled like I had said a dumb joke. He looked back up at me. "You're more than welcome, Caroline."

He took my hand, but it felt different than the handshake we had that night at his apartment. I don't what it was, but I didn't have much time to figure it out.

"Hello, Klaus," my mother said. Her voice was as hard as her glare.

Klaus dropped my hand and faced my mother. "Good evening, Sheriff Forbes."

"Caroline, why don't you go ahead in the house?" my mother said. She didn't so much say as demand. How embarrassing. Was I twelve?

"Mom-."

"Caroline," she said sternly.

I huffed and unlocked the door.

"I'll be seeing you, Caroline," Klaus said with smirk before I closed the door behind me.

I'm pretty sure that man could charm the panties off the queen.

I didn't have much time to think on it because my mother came into the kitchen like a bat out of hell.

"What are you doing, Caroline?" she asked, slamming the door behind her.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"Niklaus Mikaelson, Caroline," she said. "Do you really think that is a good idea?"

"Mom," I reproached with wide eyes.

"He's a playboy, Caroline," she said. "A different woman every week!"

"He walked me home, Mother!" I said. "Pants still on!"

"Caroline!"

"I'm twenty-four years old!" I said. "I can take care of myself and make my own decisions!"

"Apparently not!" she said. "Klaus is a terrible human being! He doesn't deserve a moment of your time."

"Mother-."

"Do you know how many criminals have gotten off scott-free because of him?" she continued, not hearing me.

"He's doing his job, Mother!" I yelled back.

Was I defending Klaus? I didn't even know him. Maybe I should chalk this up to a severe dislike of being told what to do.

"A lawyer's job is to defend their client and to find the truth," my mom said. "Klaus takes that to a whole new level."

"Nothing happened, Mom," I said. "He saw me walking home from Elena's, and he wanted to make sure I got home okay. It's not the big deal you're making it."

"He's going to take advantage of you, baby," she said, moving to put a hand on my shoulder.

Okay. Too far.

"Do you really think that I can be duped into being taken advantaged of?" I asked angrily.

She paused to look at me sadly. "That's not what I meant."

It totally was what she meant.

"God, why is everyone such a bitch today!" I yelled ripping away from her and running up the stairs to my room. I slammed and locked the door even though I knew my mom wouldn't try to come talk to me. She never did.

I threw my purse on the bed and took of my boots. I was so ready for this day to be over. I walked over to my desk and took off my earrings and necklace. I looked out the window out of habit. Through the trees I saw Klaus walking back to his car. He looked like a black blob with blonde hair, moving through the semi-darkness.

What was it about that guy that made me want to know him?

I heard my phone ring and I took one final look at Klaus's back before I walked over to my bed to answer it.

"Forbes," Kol greeted. "Sorry I didn't answer earlier. I was chatting up this glorious bird."

I rolled my eyes. "It's fine, Kol."

Like I said, you can only expect so much of Kol.

"Did you need something important?" he asked. "Like an itch only Kol can scratch?"

I didn't even try to hold in my laughter, and Kol laughed too.

"I needed a ride after a disastrous dinner at Elena's," I said. I wandered back over to the window, but Klaus had walked too far. I could not longer see him. I was surprised that I was disappointed.

"I'm assuming you made it alright?" he asked.

Should I tell him his hot older brother walked me home, and that I was pretty sure that he tried to seduce me?

"Relatively," I said.

"Glad to hear it, babes," he said. "Listen, I've got to go. Kim is telling me we're at her house. I'll text you tomorrow, so you can tell me about your evening."

I snorted at Kol calling me with another girl in the car.

"Sure," I agreed with a smile.

"Also, Klaus texted me to tell you he hoped he didn't get you into too much trouble," Kol said. "We will be talking about whatever that means later. But, for now, goodnight and good luck, Forbes."

He didn't even wait for me to respond before he hung up.

I had a stunned moment before I could put down the phone. Klaus was now giving Kol messages to give to me? That means he knew that Kol and I talked, which wasn't weird. Kol was his brother, but I have slept with Kol. That meant that Klaus knew that Kol wasn't, like, my boyfriend or whatever, but that we were friendly. What did all that mean?

I looked down at my phone and it was just after 9:30. It was earlier than I usually went to bed, but I had a lot to think about. I also had to be at work at 9 tomorrow. Besides, this day had been emotionally draining. My fight with Stefan, my walk with Klaus, my fight with my mother. So much for a celebration of my first paycheck.

* * *

**A/N: Ah, how I enjoy when Klaus is charming. Their first real conversation; well, flirtation conversation. What do you guys think?**


	9. Chapter 9

"Elena, it's fine," I said for the thousandth time that morning as I restocked the napkins on the tables.

"I just feel awful," Elena said. She was refilling the condiment bottles.

"It's not your fault, Elena," I said. "You thought you were helping."

"Still," she said. "We were supposed to be celebrating your first paycheck."

I had deposited my check this morning on my way to work. My bank account was now up to $511. No a fortune by any means, but I was proud.

"It's fine," I said.

"No," Elena said. "We should get together tonight. A girls' night. You, me, and Bonnie. Pizza, brownies, The Notebook. It's perfect timing! None of us have to work tomorrow. No strings, I promise, and no boys! I'll make Damon stay at the boarding house."

"Elena, you don't have to-."

"I know," she said. She stopped filling the condiment containers. "I want to. Besides, Bonnie finally has time. School has been running her ragged. That and fixing up the house. I'm sure she'd love a break from Jeremy."

I laughed. "Alright. You've talked me into it."

"Yay!" Elena said. "I'll call-."

She broke off at the sound of the bells jingling over the door.

There stood Rebekah with a demonizing look in her bright blue eyes. She stood with one hand on her cocked hip. She looked dressed up for a Sunday in her floral dress, purple coat, and stiletto heels.

"I need to talk to you," she said, her eyes shooting towards me.

"Yikes," Elena exhaled, scuttling away to the back.

Traitor.

Rebekah tromped over to me, and I did my best to put on my high school bitch face.

"What is the matter with you?" she asked, inches away from me. She was taller than me, especially with her heels, but that didn't stop her eyes from blazing into me.

I glared right back at her. "What are you talking about, Rebekah?" I asked.

"I'm talking about you and Stefan," she said.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't really think this is your business, Rebekah," I said, trying to walk away.

Rebekah grabbed my arm to stop me.

"You made it my business when decided not to no longer be friends with Stefan because he's marrying me," she said. She was still gripping my arm pretty tightly.

"That's not why, you self-center witch," I said, finally pulling free of her grasp. "God, everything has to be about Rebekah Mikaelson, doesn't it?"

"Everything has to be about Caroline Forbes, doesn't it?" she countered. "You're upset because for once you weren't the person at the top of Stefan's list. For once he cared more about his feelings and mine than yours!"

"That's not-."

"I have been in love with Stefan since I was seventeen years old," Rebekah said. She began to pace in front of me. "But you've always been more important to him. Caroline and Stefan. Stefan and Caroline. Friendship of the ages. Blah, blah, blah. For once, your happiness was not the one he cared about. He wanted to be happy. You're punishing him for being happy."

"I'm not punishing him for being happy," I said. "How dare you say that! Stefan is my best friend I want nothing more than for him to be happy, even if it is with you." I gave her a side eye.

"Then what is your damage?" Rebekah asked, crossing her arms in front of her. Her face looked more severe than usual.

"Stefan is supposed to be the one person who never treats me differently," I said. "He lost faith in me by not telling me he was engaged to you. How can everything just be the same?"

"Because he's Stefan," Rebekah said simply. "Even though he likes to think he's perfect, he's not. He makes mistakes. He's human. What kind of friend would you be if you did let him make one mistake when he's let you make hundreds and stood by you?"

"Why do you care, Rebekah?" I asked. "Isn't it like a dream come true that I've taken myself out of Stefan's life?"

Rebekah exhaled in annoyance. "I love Stefan, and for some unknown reason, Stefan loves you. I would love nothing more than to not have to see or hear about you everyday now that you're back, but I would much rather hear about you than watch Stefan mope all day."

"Well, that's love, Rebekah," I said sarcastically. I started to walk behind the counter, but Rebekah caught me by the arm.

"Caroline, if you ever tell anyone I said any of this to you, I will deny it," Rebekah said. "I'm glad Stefan has you as a friend, but I've always been jealous of you. But he's always cared about you more. It's always, Caroline this, Caroline that. I asked him not to tell about the engagement because I didn't want you to ruin it. I wanted him to focus on me for once, not you. You know you would have made our engagement about you. That's how you are, Caroline. That's how I am too; that's how I know. The longer he waited to tell you, the more he realized that you would take it like you did. So if you want to blame someone, blame me. It's my fault he didn't tell you."

I knew what she was saying was true. In the state I was in at the time, I would have made it about me. Hell, I had made it about me now. Stefan had just taken a big step in his life, and I hadn't said one good thing about it. I was supposed to be his best friend. Was his mistake really bigger than mine? Did I really deserve to be any angrier at him than he should be at me?

"I still don't understand why you care," I said.

"Because as hard as I try and plan," she said, "it won't be our wedding without you."

I looked at her in surprise.

"You're as much Stefan's family as Damon, and he won't be happy unless you're there," Rebekah said. "And I won't have you ruining my wedding."

So close to being a touching moment. So close.

Elena popped out of the kitchen with a concerned look on her face. Rebekah and I both turned to look at her.

"Sorry," she said. "It got quiet. I thought you had killed each other."

"Killing her might ruin the wedding," I commented.

"Elena, would you mind packing up a few danishes?" Rebekah asked. "I'm running home for brunch later, and Mother will be upset if I don't bring anything."

Elena smiled. "Sure thing." She went about busying herself.

"Just get off your high horse," Rebekah said lowly just so I could hear. "That's all I'm saying."

"I put ten in there," Elena said, handing Rebekah the bag. "It'll be $15."

Rebekah fished a twenty out of her purse. "Put the rest in the tip jar." She shot me a look before she left.

"She looked oddly intense," Elena commented, grabbing the salt and pepper shakers off the tables.

"Rebekah is always oddly intense," I commented, grabbing the last few shakers and adding them to the counter.

"Did she convince you to talk to Stefan?" she asked.

I shot her a look.

"What? You two were yelling there for a while. It's not my fault."

I filled a few of the saltshakers before I answered her. "She did actually."

"I'm glad someone could help that situation," she commented.

"Don't you think-."

"I don't think anything about this situation," she cut me off quickly. "I'm not getting involved anymore than I already have." She took some of the shakers back to the tables.

I rolled my eyes as I went to deposit Rebekah's money into the till and put the extra five in the tip jar.

"I called Bonnie while you were getting bitched out," Elena said, coming to grab the final shakers. "She's totally up for tonight. Apparently Jeremy is working at the restaurant tonight until closing, so she didn't have plans anyway."

I hadn't seen Bonnie since the night of Stefan and Rebekah's party. Apparently, the life of an elementary school teacher was full. She was always busy. She even had Jeremy bring home food from when he worked at the bakery, so she never came in. I hadn't kept up much with her since high school, and I couldn't decide if I was nervous or excited about spending the night with her.

"I'll drive you home after work, so you can grab a few things," Elena said. "Bon's going to the store to get the junk food, and we're in charge of the pizza and movies."

I nodded.

The bell tinkled over the door, and an old man walked in. The day had officially begun.

* * *

**A/N: More character development for Caroline! Yay! Keep in mind how pre-vamp Caroline compares to to post-vamp Caroline on the show. She's got to get to that point a little differently in an "all-human" world. Thanks so much for reading, and review if you'd like to!**


	10. Chapter 10

"_Hey, hey! Bye, bye, bye!"_ I sang as Elena pulled into her driveway.

Elena laughed and got out of the car. "You remember how we used have the dance to this song memorized?"

"Used to?" I challenged, getting out of the car to go unload the pizza. I turned and did the signature "bye, bye, bye" move, and Elena almost fell over laughing.

I joined in as I grabbed the three pizza boxes.

"I can't believe you still remember that," she said, unlocking the door.

"Girl, I still remember the 'Toxic' dance," I said. Elena laughed.

Bonnie popped out from the kitchen with a weird look. "What did I miss?" she asked.

"Just Caroline trying to bring back the early 2000s," Elena said, putting the movies on the coffee table and took the pizzas from me to add them to the coffee table.

"Hi, Bon," I said, awkwardly waving.

Bonnie smiled.

"Damon!" Elena yelled suddenly, causing Bonnie and me to jump. "You better not be in this house!"

"He let me in and headed out," Bonnie said. "He said there's some kind of boys' night going on after they close the bar tonight."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Of course there is."

"Can we eat please?" I asked. "I've haven't eaten since lunch, and that pizza smell took over the entire ride over here."

Bonnie and Elena laughed, but we went to the kitchen.

"God, Bonnie, there's only three of us," Elena said, looking at the spread on the kitchen island. Chips, cookies, candy-everything that was necessary for a girls' night.

"Sorry," Bonnie said. "Everything just looked so good."

"I'm not complaining," I said, rushing forward to open a bag of barbeque chips.

"Good to know you still love to eat," Bonnie said with a laugh. She held out her hand for some chips, and I handed her the bag.

"You can take girl out of Mystic Falls, but you can't take the Mystic Falls appetite out of the girl," I said, grabbing a few more chips out of the bag.

We all laughed.

"At least two of us are still able to eat whatever we want," Elena said, gesturing to Bonnie and me. "I've gained like ten pounds this last month alone."

"You can't tell, Elena," Bonnie said. "You're still crazy thin."

Elena rolled her eyes. "This really is like high school. One of us complaining about our weight."

"All we need is one of us having relationship problems, and another of us bitching about our parents," I said.

"I feel like those have both always been you," Elena said with a fake questioning look.

"Ha ha," I said sarcastically, bumping her hip with mine.

Elena laughed. "You guys grab the snacks, and I'll grab the wine," she said, going over to the wine rack and grabbing three bottles. "Everyone wants their own right?"

"Of course," Bonnie said, wiggling her eyebrows.

"I think this night is going to be amazing," I predicted. We all smiled.

"I mean, why hasn't he proposed?" Bonnie asked. She took a long drink of her wine and finished off the bottle she and Elena were sharing.

"My brother is stupid," Elena said. She pulling the cork out of another bottle of sweet red, sloshing a little on the floor, and danced to hand it to Bonnie.

You would think our tolerance would have built up over the years, but we were all smashed. Elena went first after just a half bottle. Bonnie was next after her first bottle, and I was next after a bottle and a half. However, now I was now working on finishing my second bottle, and Elena and Bonnie had just opened a third. We had also eaten two full pizzas. We were champions.

"I looooove him," Bonnie said. She stuffed a few Skittles in her mouth. "Does he not love me?"

"Of course he does," Elena said, sitting down hard in the middle of Bonnie and me. "He's just stupid."

"He's so much better than when he was with Vicki Donovan," I said. "I actually like this Jeremy." Elena swiped my bottle of Moscato and took a drink.

"I just thought after we bought the house…," Bonnie said.

"Maybe Rebekah threatened him not to propose to your after her wedding," I said darkly.

"So you still hate Rebekah," Bonnie said.

"I'll hate her forever," I predicted.

"Rebekah came in the shop today and gave Caroline a stern talk," Elena told Bonnie in a stage whisper.

"More like she threatened me if I ruined her wedding," I said.

"She wants me to cater it," Elena said, picking apart a brownie.

"She asked us to be bridesmaids!" Bonnie said in shock. "How can you do both?"

"I'll die," Elena said without blinking.

Bonnie and I giggled.

"Stefan tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't hear it," Elena said. "She's already bridezilla, and they don't want to have the wedding until May."

"That's," I stopped to count, "six months from now."

"And she wants to have the groomsmen suits specially made," Elena said. "Damon and I don't know how we're going to afford it."

I knew Elena was drunk because she would never talk like this.

"Make her pay for it," I said. "The Mikaelsons are loaded."

"Speaking of the Mikaelsons," Bonnie said. "I saw you driving around with Kol a few nights ago."

"Ooooo," Elena sounded.

"You're not going there again are you?" Bonnie asked.

"Ew. No," I said quickly. I took another long drink. Maybe the drunker I got the better this situation would get.

"So are you, like, what?" Bonnie asked.

"Nothing," I said.

Bonnie and Elena looked at each other and then at me with disbelieving looks.

"I guess, we're, like, friends, or something, okay?" I said.

"Friends with Kol Mikaelson?" Elena asked.

"Is this the same Kol that you hoped 'got his balls chopped off'?" Bonnie asked.

"It's just...I mean, he's...It's not like that anymore," I whined.

They both started laughing.

"What?" I asked.

"Kol Mikaelson doesn't have friends," Elena said.

"He has me," I said indignantly.

The two shared a skeptical look.

"He's not that bad," I said. "He was really nice to me when I first got back into town."

First with the sex, then with the hug. Different comfort for different situations.

Bonnie and Elena directed their skeptical looks towards me.

"Leave me alone," I sulked, leaning back on the couch and crossing my arms.

"We just don't want to see you hurt again," Bonnie said. "You remember what he was like in high school? He hasn't changed."

"But I have," I said.

Bonnie and Elena looked at each other, and I knew they saw their opening.

"So, what have you been up to for the last five years, Caroline?" Bonnie asked.

I bit my lip. There was no getting out of this now. I had to talk about it. My only option was to storm out, and that would make things worse instead of better.

"How long have you been planning to ask?" I asked with a short, humorless laugh.

"You can't blame us for being curious, Caroline," Elena said. "You've been gone for five years, and you randomly come back into town."

I looked at them with their worried, curious expressions. These two girls were my best friends in high school, and Elena had only become a better friend since I moved back. If I could trust these two girls, whom could I trust?

"Well, you know that I got my full scholarship to NYU," I began.

I noticed Bonnie grabbing the bowl of popcorn like she was getting ready to watch a really intense movie. She had no idea.

"My four years at college were amazing," I said. "I loved it. I loved the city, and I loved my classes. I graduated at the top of my class with a degree in communications. I got an entry-level job at a publicity company, which was basically like party planning and talking, and everything seemed perfect."

"You know I moved up there with Tyler," I continued. "We were together while I was at NYU, and he was at Columbia. I thought everything between us was great. After we both graduated, we got an apartment in Soho, which was closer to his work than mine, but I didn't care. I loved him."

I got up and began pacing. I didn't even look at Elena and Bonnie because I was worried their expressions would break me down.

"I was almost five months into my job when I noticed that Tyler was having to stay later and later at work," I said. "I didn't think anything about it because lawyers work all the time, and they make their interns work with them if not longer. I thought it was normal."

"Then, I finally got a big project at work, and they sent me to LA for two weeks," I said. "I was so excited. You know that I've always loved Hollywood. I was finally getting somewhere. However, the client hated me, and everything I did for him. I got sent back to New York after just a week. I went home and found Tyler with another of the interns, Hayley."

Bonnie grasped. "Sorry," she apologized quietly.

Elena motioned me to go on.

"Hayley told me that they had been together for months," I said, my voice cracking. I tried not to cry. "Tyler just didn't want to move out of our apartment, so he didn't break up with me. But I made him move out, so I had to pay for a $2000 a month studio apartment by myself instead of splitting it with him.

"After that, I was a mess," I said. "I took a week off of work, and when I got back, I found out they fired me because of my work in LA. I tried to explain that it wasn't my work that was the problem but the client. That obviously didn't work, and I didn't even get a positive reference."

"New York is an absurdly expensive city. I hadn't been able to save anything. So I had two weeks before I had to ask my landlord for an extension on getting my rent, but he had always liked Tyler more than me. He told me I had a week to get out before he rented it out to someone else.

"I didn't have anywhere else to go," I said. "I had no choice, but to come home. I called my mom and told her I needed a place to stay, and I asked Stefan to pick me up at the airport. I had kept Stefan updated on this entire situation, so he wasn't surprised when I told him I was coming home."

"That's my story," I said with a shrug.

There was not even a moment before Elena and Bonnie engulfed me with hugs.

"Oh my God, Caroline!" Bonnie said.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Elena said.

I couldn't help it. I started to cry.

"I left thinking I was so much better than this town and the people in it," I cried. "But you guys have done so much better than me and have fantastic lives. I'm so jealous of you."

"Are you kidding?" Bonnie asked, pulling back.

"Our lives aren't that great," Elena said.

"Yeah," Bonnie agreed. "I have a boyfriend that won't commit."

"Damon and I have almost worked our way into debt with the restaurant and the bakery and the house renovations," Elena said.

"And I've never been out of Virginia," Bonnie added.

"I had to get my appendix out two months ago," Elena said. "What kind of adult has to get their appendix taken out?"

I laughed through my tears. This was what true friends did. They ragged on themselves to make you feel better. I pulled them back into a hug.

"I'm so sorry that I didn't keep in touch," I said.

"It's a two way street," Elena said. "We didn't either."

"But we're here now," Bonnie said. "We're all here."

"Best friends forever," I said, holding a pinkie out to both of them. We all smiled and connected pinkies.

"Best friends forever," they repeated. For the first time, I truly believed it.

* * *

**A/N: So now you know Caroline's story, and why she returned to Mystic Falls. Sorry, guys, but I'm in the camp that believes something happened between Hayley and Tyler, don't you agree? But, anyways, hope you enjoyed girls' night and some back story. Review, if you'd like!**


	11. Chapter 11

"For the love of God answer it!" I groaned.

Last night, after our heart to heart, we had slowly tired ourselves out and decided it was the best idea for all three of us to fall asleep in Elena and Damon's king-sized bed. It was not the best idea.

Elena moaned as she reached for her phone and promptly fell off the bed. "Ow." The phone stopped ringing. Elena moaned again at her failure.

"You okay?" Bonnie asked from the other side of the bed.

"I think I'm dead," Elena said. She pulled the quilt from the end of the bed and wrapped up in it.

"There's no thinking," I said, going to take Elena's spot in the bed so I wasn't cuddled up next to Bonnie. "I am dead."

I tossed down a pillow for Elena, but it accidently hit her in the face.

"Thanks," Elena muttered, taking her time to put the pillow under her head.

Her phone started ringing again, but Elena actually got to it this time.

"Hello?" she croaked. "I'm fine, Damon."

I put a pillow over my head as Elena continued to talk to her husband.

"Do you guys want Damon to bring us anything on his way home?" Elena asked.

"What time is it?" Bonnie asked. Elena repeated the question to Damon. I didn't comment on that.

"12:30," Elena repeated.

"Fries," I commented. "Lots of fries."

"And bread," Bonnie said.

"Probably some Gatorade too," Elena said after she repeated our list to Damon. "Thanks, babe. Love you too."

"New friendship rule," I announced. "No more than three bottles of wine per girls' night."

"Seconded," Bonnie said.

"Thirded," Elena said.

"I've never been this hung over," Bonnie said. She attempted to get up. I did the polite, friendly thing by not watching her plight.

"I'm still drunk," Elena said, getting to her feet but tripping on the quilt. "Damnit." She stayed down.

I sat up just as Bonnie made it to the on suite master bathroom.

"Listen," I said, "this was fun an all, but I'm too young to get this wine drunk."

Elena laughed weakly. "You're not a Carol Lockwood to be." Then she realized she had just compared me to Tyler's mother. "Sorry."

I groaned in response.

"Well, I threw up," Bonnie said, coming back to the bed and flopping down on her stomach.

"Gross, Bon," I said.

"Elena! I'm home!" Damon shouted from the foyer.

"Why does this bedroom have to be on the second floor?" I asked, tossing around on the bed.

"What the hell happened?" Damon asked from the doorway.

We must have looked pretty bad. Bonnie and I were on a very disheveled bed, and Elena was sprawled out on the floor on her stomach.

"We got drunk," Elena said.

Damon looked down at her with concern. "I figured that from the Gatorade."

"Did you bring the fries?" I asked with a little bit of hope.

"They're downstairs," Damon said. His eyes were still on Elena. "The bread's down there too."

I turned to look at Bonnie, and she turned to look at me. Together, we made our way down the stairs. As soon as we made it, Bonnie had to run to the half bath to throw up again, but I stuffed some fries in my mouth. I made my way to the living room to sit down.

"Hey, Care," Stefan said from the couch. I froze in the doorway.

"Hi," I said.

He got up and awkwardly walked over to me. "Listen, I know this-."

"I'm sorry," I said quickly.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm really hung over," I said, running a hand over my face. "Can we sit?"

Stefan nodded and led us back to the couch.

I took a deep breath to regain myself after the strenuous walk to the couch. "I said I was sorry." I ate a couple of fries and chewed slowly.

"Caroline-."

"I freaked out," I said. "I did have a right to be mad, but I shouldn't have freaked out on you like that. It wasn't going to make anything better. You've been my best friend for so long, and your heart was really in the right place. You've been so good to me, and I don't want our friendship to end because of this. It's so stupid. I'm so dumb. I mean-."

"Caroline-."

"—what kind of best friend doesn't even give her best friend a sincere congratulations when he gets engaged? Even if it is to Rebekah Mikaelson. Why am I still such a terrible person? You think I would have grown up by now. You're-."

"Caroline!" Stefan said loudly.

"What?" I whispered. I munched on a fry.

Stefan laughed and pulled me into a hug. "You are so neurotic."

"I really am sorry," I said into his shoulder.

"Me too," he said. "Really sorry. It was an ass move."

I nodded into his shoulder.

"Friends again?" I asked, pulling out of the hug.

Stefan smiled. "Never stopped."

I smiled back.

"I don't think I've ever had bread that tasted this good," Bonnie said coming into the living room. "Oh, hi, Stefan."

"Did you finally make up with my brother, Blondie?" Damon asked.

I looked up to see him carrying Elena, and I gave him the best glare I could in my current hung over condition.

"Well, I have to get going," Stefan said. "I have a volunteer shift at the hospital at 2:30. You want a ride, Care?"

I nodded.

"Lena, you can just bring my stuff into work tomorrow," I said as I grabbed my purse off the ottoman.

Elena groaned with her face still buried in Damon's shoulder.

"That's hung over Elena for 'I'll be docking your pay for such services,'" Damon said.

"Har har," I said.

"You need a ride too, Bon?" Stefan asked.

"Jeremy's coming in a while," she said. She curled up in one of the huge armchairs with her loaf of bread.

I went around to give hugs to Bonnie and Elena. The Elena one was awkward since she had fallen asleep in Damon's arms.

Stefan had to help me into his SUV.

"How was your boys' night last night?" I asked as he pulled out of the driveway.

Stefan laughed. "Apparently not as good as your girls' night."

I munched on my fries.

"Klaus asked me about you last night," Stefan said.

I spit out my fries.

"Gez, Care. Gross."

Klaus had been at boys' night. Klaus had asked Stefan about me. This was the second person he had talked to about me. What did this mean? Why was I acting like a sixteen year old about this?

"What did he ask?" I asked. I knew my attempt to be nonchalant hadn't worked from the way Stefan was looking at me.

"He wanted to know your deal," Stefan said.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"Why are you so interested?" he asked.

I shot him a look. "I'm not."

Stefan rolled his eyes as he turned down my street.

"So are you going to tell me or not?" I asked after a minute.

Stefan laughed.

"You know what? Forget it," I said. "He probably didn't even say anything anyway."

"Caroline," Stefan said, "Klaus has become a good friend of mine since he move to Mystic Falls. He's very loyal and dependable when it comes to his friends and family. I cold never say anything bad about him in that respect."

"Sounds like you're about to," I muttered.

"You're my best friend, Caroline," Stefan said. "And what I'm about to say, I say for you. Overall, Klaus isn't a good man. Every woman he has ever been with, regardless of the amount of time he was with them, has always ended up brokenhearted and miserable. You've been through a lot Caroline. You don't need Klaus."

I looked down at my lap. I wondered if people talked about me like that. "Every man Caroline has ever been with has left her. You would be an idiot to get with her." "Caroline's a hot mess. Don't bother trying to hit that." Yep. I bet that's what they said. So how much stock should I really put into what Stefan was saying? Wasn't I more than taglines like that?

While I was having my epiphany, Stefan had pulled into my driveway.

I tumbled out and grabbed my fries. "Thanks for the ride, Stef."

Stefan grinned. "No problem. I've got to make sure my grooms-lady makes it home."

"I'm still a grooms-lady?" I asked in disbelief.

"Of course," Stefan said. "You didn't think two weeks of silence from you was going to deter me, did you?"

I climbed back in the SUV and hugged him.

"I promise I won't be a bitch," I said.

"Caroline," Stefan cautioned.

"Okay, so I can't promise that," I said. "I'll be the best grooms-lady to you, like, ever and try not to kill Rebekah."

Stefan smiled. "Fair enough."

"I've got to go take a shower," I said. "I'm totally gross, but let me know what I need to do for the wedding."

"You got it, Care Bear," he said. I skipped off to my house.

As I fished for my keys in my purse, I realize that this was the first time in a long time that I almost felt settled. I was on good terms with almost everyone in my life. I had a job and a place to live. And, except for Tyler, I wasn't holding a grudge against anyone. Maybe I was finally growing up.

* * *

**A/N: ****Sorry for the kind of filler chapter, but the next chapter will be more exciting, promise! At least Caroline and Stefan made up! I love their friendship. Review, if you would like!**


	12. Chapter 12

"Caroline, these decorations are amazing!" Elena said.

Halloween fell on a Wednesday a week and a half after our girls' night. Halloween had been one of my favorite holidays since I was a kid. I loved being able to dress up, and it was one of the only holidays that I didn't have to worry about having a family. Halloween wasn't really a family holiday but a friend one. I remembered in high school when I used to have so much fun planning the dances and decorating.

It turns out Elena was almost ecstatic to have me working for her because of this. Elena, god love her, had never been the best with crafting, decorating, and planning, so I had been able to decorate the shop and Damon's restaurant for Halloween. I had been making the decorations since the Monday after our girls' night, and they looked fantastic.

I grinned at Elena. "Thanks," I said. "I dropped Damon's off this morning on the way over. He said he would get Rose to hang them before the party tonight."

"I'm so excited about tonight," Elena said. "And you look hot."

I smiled. I had brought my costume with some of my money from my first paycheck. I had convinced Kol to take me up to Charlottesville to a costume store. I was in a flapper's dress that was this gorgeous red, and I had gotten up especially early that morning to curl and pin up my hair for an authentic 20's look. I looked fantastic and I knew it.

"You look great too," I complimented.

Elena looked down at her slightly sexy nurse's uniform and rolled her eyes. "I wore the same thing last year," she said. "I was too lazy to go buy another one."

"It doesn't even matter because we are going to be the best looking ladies there tonight," I said, spinning Elena around.

She laughed. "I forgot how much you loved Halloween," she said. She went behind the counter to unload the pastries that April, who was dressed as an angel, had brought out.

"It's just the best holiday ever," I said, going to individually wrap the bat, ghost, and black cat shaped cookies Elena had made this morning.

"I'm more of Thanksgiving girl, myself," Elena said, putting the final pastry out.

"You would be," I muttered just loud enough for her to hear. She bumped my hip with hers.

We both looked up when the bell above the door tinkled. It was Klaus.

Since that night he had walked me home a couple of weeks ago, Klaus's visits to the bakery were far and in between, and when he did come in, I was oddly on my lunch break. It was like he was intentionally avoiding me. Now he was here at 10:30 in the morning? Weird.

"Hey, Klaus," Elena said with a sincere smile. "A bit early for lunch."

Klaus smiled directly at Elena. He didn't even look in my direction. "I'm afraid I skipped breakfast this morning and was about to starve. Can I have a strawberry Danish and a large coffee?"

"Cream and sugar in the coffee?" Elena asked, going to get the Danish from the display.

"Black," Klaus answered.

I went to fill a to-go cup with coffee while Elena rang up Klaus's order.

"You haven't been very regular lately," she commented as she took his five dollars. "We haven't done anything to lose your business have we?"

Klaus smiled at Elena. "Of course not," he said. "I've just been very busy. I've got a big case coming to trial, and they've been mass ordering lunch. From Tikki's of all places."

Elena laughed as she handed Klaus his change and took the coffee from me. "Just thought I'd check," she said. "Stefan didn't say if you were coming to the party tonight at the bar?"

I wasn't interested in the answer. I couldn't be interested in the answer. Nope. I wasn't listening for the answer.

"I'm going to try to stop by," Klaus said. "I've got a lot going on with this case, but my sister might be more dangerous if I didn't at least make an appearance."

Elena laughed. "It's going to be fun," she said. "Caroline even made the decorations."

That's when Klaus finally spared me a glance. He gave me an almost secret smile before turning back to Elena. "Perhaps I will make it," he said, gathering his Danish and coffee. "Thank you for the emergency breakfast."

"Anytime," Elena said to Klaus's retreating figure.

I messed with the napkins in front of me for a split second before I went after him.

"Klaus!" I called down the sidewalk.

Klaus turned around with an expectant expression, and I awkwardly ran to catch up with him.

Great. Now what was I going to say?

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

Klaus smiled. "Is there something you needed, Caroline?" he asked.

It was much colder outside than I remembered. I brought my arms around myself. "I just," I started, not knowing where the sentence was going. "I just wanted to make sure we were still okay."

Klaus gave me that signature smirk of his. "Why wouldn't we be?"

I bit my lip and adverted my eyes before I answered. "It's just that the night you walked me home-."

"Sweetheart," he said, bending down so that he could catch my eye, "it takes a lot more to scare me than an angry mother."

I was extremely embarrassed. I felt my face go red. "I'm so sorry," I said.

Klaus chuckled. "I've had much worse."

Well, that was a bit concerning.

"You should come to the party tonight," I said suddenly. "Everybody's going to be there."

"Are _you_ asking me to come to the party?" he asked.

My face fell in horror. Is that what that sounded like? Did I sound that desperate?

"No!" I said too quickly.

Klaus turned away to smile.

"Well, I've, um, I've got to get back to work," I said, turning away to hide my face. It wasn't like I was interested in him. I wasn't. I _wasn't_. I was just drawn to him. It wasn't on purpose.

"Caroline," Klaus called, causing me to turn around. He smirked. "You look lovely, sweetheart."

My heart dropped to my stomach as I watched him walk away.

* * *

**A/N: A short update to get you excited for the Halloween party chapter, which is next.**


	13. Chapter 13

"Chug it, Gilbert!" Kol yelled over the music later that night. I laughed and rested my chin on his shoulder. Kol placed an arm around my waist.

It was a little before midnight, and Damon had closed the bar to the public at eleven. Elena and I had arrived at 7:30, and our group had been steadily drinking since 8. Even Matt and Vicki Donovan had joined in. I didn't even know Matt was still in town, but he apparently still worked at the bar at the Mystic Grill.

Jeremy let out a pained noise as he slammed the glass down.

"It's like being in high school again, isn't it, Jer?" Vicki Donovan said. Vicki was dressed in one of the sluttiest costumes I had ever seen. I didn't even know what she was supposed to be, but her dress was short. She even had garters on. Typical Vicki Donovan.

I noticed Bonnie glare at Vicki. "Come dance, Jer," she said, pulling on Jeremy's muscular arm.

Jeremy grinned as he turned to throw Bonnie over his shoulder to carry her to the dance floor. I laughed, and Kol dragged me out to follow them.

CCR was playing. Elena and Damon were behind the bar making sure everyone's drink needs were being fulfilled, Stefan and Rebekah were playing a particularly intense looking game of beer pong against Rose and Alaric (Rebekah was drinking vodka tonics instead of beer, of course), and Matt was trying to cut Vicki off at the bar (again typical). I guess not that much had changed.

"Why do you keep looking at the door?" Kol asked as he spun me around.

"I'm not," I said indignantly.

Kol grinned. "Looking for my dapper older brother?"

I scowled. Since Kol had asked the meaning behind Klaus's text the night he walked me home, it had become a running gag for Kol to tease me about wanting to date Klaus. As with most of Kol's jokes, it got old pretty fast.

"You are the worst friend date ever," I murmured.

Kol grinned as he dipped me so far that my head almost touched the ground.

As the song changed, I hit his chest for him to pick me back up. He laughed but brought me back to my feet. The next song was "Love Potion No.9," which is one of my favorite oldies. I started to dance when I saw Klaus making his way in. He was dressed in the same suit he was wearing that morning, but he looked different. I chalked it up to beer goggles.

"I knew you were waiting on my brother!" Kol said from behind me.

It wasn't until then that I realized I had been standing still watching Klaus walk over to the bar.

"I'm not-," I tried, but Kol was already pulling me towards Klaus.

Klaus was talking with Elena and Damon, and he was chuckling at something Damon said.

"Hello, Brother," Kol said with a wide grin. He threw an arm over my shoulder.

"Hello, Kol," Klaus said with slight irritation. I couldn't blame him. I was more than slightly irritated at Kol by this point.

"You know my friend Caroline, don't you?" he asked.

Klaus gave me a raised eyebrow smile. "We have had the pleasure," he said.

"I'm glad you showed up," Kol said. "Caroline has just about danced me out. Would you mind taking over?"

Is it illegal to kill someone for embarrassing you? I might take the chance at this point. I would gladly serve time if it got Kol to shut up.

Elena and Damon were both watching the exchange with interest.

Klaus smiled. "Would you like to dance, Caroline?"

I swallowed. The answer to the question "Did I want to dance with Klaus?" was different to the question "Should I dance with Klaus?". Regardless, I nodded.

He lead me into the open as "Lil' Red Riding Hood" by Sam The Sham & the Pharaohs started playing. How oddly appropriate.

After a moment, I said, "You decided to make an appearance."

"I did," he answered like he was hiding a smile.

"You're not in a costume," I noted.

"I don't do costumes, love," he said, pulling me just a bit closer. His lips were right by my ear. "Besides, I knew I couldn't compete with yours."

I felt my heart beating fast in my throat, and I knew that at least Kol, Elena, and Damon were watching. What was it about Klaus that made me feel excited and terrified at the same time?

"You're a good dancer, Caroline," he said. The song changed to an even slower song, and he closed any distance between us.

"I was Miss Mystic Falls," I said. "I've been trained."

Klaus's hand slipped just a little farther down my back so that it was just above my backside. "I know," he said lowly.

I pulled back. He was too much. I felt a heat on my cheeks…and other places. I needed a break.

"Thanks for the dance, Klaus," I said, putting both of my hands on his shoulders. "I need a break."

I didn't wait for him to respond before I did a high-heeled run to the bathroom.

I barely had the door locked before I heard a knock. I backed away from the door and didn't say a word.

"Caroline?"

It was Klaus. How humiliating.

"Caroline, love, open the door," he said, gently knocking.

I bit my lip. I didn't know what to do. If I opened the door, there was a very good chance I would be making out with Klaus in a bathroom in less than ten seconds. If I didn't open the door, there would be a crowd gathered by the time I decided to open the door. I honestly couldn't decide which was worse.

"Carol-."

I pulled the door open.

"Hi," he said, like I was a baby deer he was afraid he would scare off.

"Hi," I greeted back.

We stood looking at each other for a minute.

"Caroline, if I did anything-," he began.

"It's really not you, Klaus," I said. I didn't move any closer to him in fear that I would jump him.

"You just have something that I'm inexplicitly attracted to," he said. He took a step forward, and I took a step back. "I've felt it since the first time I saw you in my flat."

"Klaus-," I started.

"I fancy you," he said bluntly. "I truly fancy you, which is even difficult for me to believe, but you have something, Caroline. Something beautiful."

That was one of the nicest things a guy had said to me in…well, that was probably the nicest thing a guy had ever said to me. But when I looked at him, all I could think about was how much he would hurt me if I gave in. I was already so broken and unhealed. How much more could I take before I was irreversibly broken?

I felt him coming in for a kiss, but I turned my head so he got my cheek. He pulled back and looked up at me in confusion.

"I can't," I said. "It's not you. It's me. I just can't."

I went around him to get out of the bathroom. I was unsurprised to see almost everybody waiting for me to walk out. I pretended to ignore them as I put on my coat quickly and grabbed my purse. I didn't say anything to anyone before I walked out.

"Forbes!" Kol called behind me. I didn't slow down, so he ran to catch up.

"I'm not talking about it," I warned. I wiped a hand over my cheek to brush away a few tears.

"Let's go back to your house, and we can watch that terrible movie you were telling me about," he said, putting a gentle arm over my shoulders.

"Hocus Pocus," I muttered.

Kol gave me a kind smile. "Yeah," he said. "That one."

I put my head on his shoulder and my arm around his waist as we walked to my house.

* * *

**A/N: So Klaus told Caroline that he fancies her. Ooo. Also, some more Kol love because he's a goofball. Hope you enjoyed it. Also, I was absurdly proud that this chapter ended up being #13. So appropriate.**


	14. Chapter 14

After a certain age, the day after Halloween becomes a day of regret. When you're a kid and your parents trust you to sort your own candy, you wake up on November 1 with a stomachache because you ate too much candy. After the age of 16, you wake up with a hangover and a fear that you've done something stupid. After 21, you wake up with a splitting hangover and the knowledge that you've done something stupid.

When I woke up the morning after Halloween, I couldn't move because Kol had fallen asleep on my legs, and my feet were asleep. We had fallen asleep on the couch, and I was still in my costume. By the time I got him up and out and I got ready, I was an hour late for work.

I bustled in with apologies flying.

"It's fine, Caroline," Elena said with a kind smile.

I went to put my purse and coat in Elena's office, and I immediately started to busy myself with my opening chores.

"Caroline, I don't want to get you started, but are you okay?" Elena asked quietly.

I looked up from restocking the sugar. "I've fine," I said simply. I adverted my eyes back to my job.

"You just left really quickly last night," she continued. I noticed she wasn't making eye contact with me. She had her eyes directed at the cash register. She was trying too hard not to spook me.

"Sorry," I said. "I had fun. Tell Damon I said thanks."

"Seriously, Caroline?" Elena said, slamming the drawer to the till and leaning a hand on the counter to give me a stern look.

"What?" I asked, surprised. Elena didn't ever raise her voice.

"You and Klaus have the most sexually charged dance I've ever seen, then you disappear to the bathroom only to leave with Kol?" Elena said.

Had the sexual tension I felt between Klaus and I really been that noticeable? Well, that's embarrassing.

"I don't want to, like, pry," Elena continued, her voice calming, "but if you wanted to share, I wouldn't say no."

"Klaus just said he was interested in me," I said. I continued to fill the sugar.

"And you said…," Elena prompted.

"I said I couldn't, Elena," I snapped. "I basically said I was too messed up to even get involved with a supposed womanizer like Klaus, alright? Are you happy to hear me say it?"

Elena flinched back. "Caroline," she said in a sad way.

"Don't," I said sharply. I pointed a finger at her and stepped back.

"Do you like Klaus?" she asked quietly.

That's when I sank to the floor. "I don't know," I said, resting my back against the counter. I ran a hand over my hair then rested my forehead on my knees.

Elena came to sit by me, and we basically hid behind the counter. She put an arm around my shoulders and rested her head against mine.

"My life is still so messed up," I said, turning my face so that she could hear me. "It's getting better, but I'm in no place to get involved with anyone. But Klaus has this way that makes me want to get to know him. He's always so mysterious, but he always seems so interested in me. He actually walked me home one night. Who does that any more? Then, last night, we danced, and he told me he liked me. All I could think about was how badly he could hurt me. He could be another Tyler. I can't be treated like that again. There's not any further my life can break."

Elena didn't say anything back to me for a while. She just held me while I sobbed silently.

"Klaus isn't Tyler," Elena said. "He may not be the best person, but he would never cheat on you. He's always honest with the women he sees, according to Stefan. That doesn't mean it's always the kind of honest you want, but at least he's up front. In all honesty, he could break your heart; he has that track record. You won't know until you give him a chance."

We sat there while I took in Elena's words. I knew she was right, but I still wasn't sure I wanted to take that chance.

I heard the bell tinkle, and Elena stood up.

"Oh," she said quietly. I didn't even need to stand up to know who it was.

"Is Caroline here?" Klaus asked.

"Uh," Elena sounded. I knew she wasn't sure what to say.

I wiped underneath my eyes quickly and stood up. I might run away, but I wouldn't hide. Those two things were different, right?

Klaus looked at me in surprise. Whether it was because I had actually popped up from behind the counter or was agreeing to talk to him, I didn't know.

"Could we go somewhere to talk?" he asked.

I nodded. "Let me get my coat," I said.

After retrieving my coat, I followed Klaus outside. After a few minutes of walking down Main Street, Klaus finally said something.

"You look lovely today."

"Stop saying things like that," I said, stopping suddenly.

Klaus halted. "Why?"

"Because," I said.

Klaus looked at me curiously.

"You said you liked me," I said. "But you don't know me, and I don't know you. You like what you think I am."

"So get to know me," Klaus said, pulling me to a bench. He sat down and looked up at me with expectantly. "And I'll get to know you. Take a chance. Talk to me."

Take a chance. That's what Elena had said.

I joined him on the bench.

"So what do you want to talk about?" I asked.

"I want to talk about you," he said with a smirk.

I couldn't help but laugh a little bit.

"You're pretty smooth, Mikaelson," I complimented.

Klaus smirked.

"But let's get one thing straight," I said, pointing a finger at him. "I'm too smart to be seduced by your rehearsed lines and hot accent."

Klaus laughed. "I know," he said. "That's why I like you."

I couldn't help it; I blushed. "I'm still not going to date you."

"What are you so afraid of, Caroline?" he asked.

You, I thought. I am afraid to you.

"Nothing," I said with a little bit of anger. "I'm just not dating right now. Anybody. I'm not dating anybody."

"Would you at least agree to dinner?" he asked. "As friends?"

"How exactly is that not a date?" I challenged.

"I won't spend the entire evening trying to get you to sleep with me," he said simply.

I gave a nervous laugh. Klaus winked.

"I'm not sure we're even friend yet," I said.

Klaus looked slightly offended.

"Would you like to come to the bakery at closing time on Saturday?" I asked. "I'll have to check with Elena, but we can eat and get to know one another."

"It's a date," Klaus said.

"It's not a date," I said seriously, pointing at him.

Klaus smiled. "So Saturday at 7?"

I nodded. "Come in sometime this week after I ask Elena to make sure."

"Shall I walk you back?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I said. "I'm not a damsel in distress or anything. I can take care of myself."

Klaus gave me a crooked smile. "You are far from a damsel in distress, Caroline."

I stood up and stuck my hand out to Klaus. "See you Saturday."

Klaus laughed but took my hand. "Saturday."

When I walked back into the bakery, Elena was finishing up with a customer and looked up with wide eyes. After I put my coat back in her office, I walked behind the counter to grab the sugar containers I was filling earlier.

"How was that?" Elena asked before I got too far.

"We're having dinner here on Saturday, if that's okay," I said.

Elena looked at me in surprise.

"It's not a date!" I said quickly.

Elena raised her eyebrow.

"I swear," I said.

"Of course you can have dinner here," she said as another customer came in.

"It's not a date," I said again.

"I heard you," Elena said unconvinced as she turned back to the customer.

* * *

**A/N: So Klaus and Caroline, sort-of-kind-of have a date. Who's excited? Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Review, if you'd like!**


	15. Chapter 15

After fielding a call from an upset Stefan (You're going on a date with Klaus?!) and visit with a smug Kol (You're going to have a romantic dinner with my brother, eh?), the week dragged on slowly. There wasn't even any excitement at work to keep my mind occupied. Unless you count April calling in sick on Friday so that Jeremy had to fill in, which I didn't.

On Saturday morning, I picked out one of my cutest Fall looks (lace top, black jeans, and black riding boots) and wore one of my favorite blazers. I even felt just a little more confident when I went into work.

Until I saw Kol.

"No," I said as soon as he saw me.

"You don't even know what I was going to say," he said, following me to Elena's office.

"Excuse you," I said, throwing my coat and purse on the couch. "You can't be back here." I tried to push him out the door.

"Kol, what are you doing back here?" Elena asked, suddenly appearing.

"I was just-," I started before Kol cut me off.

"I-."

"Kol, you sister is going to be here in ten minutes to discuss food for the party tomorrow," Elena said, going around us to sit at her desk. "I can't deal with the both of you."

"Oi, I resent that," Kol said.

Elena looked up at him to disprove what she had said.

"Rebekah's coming in today?" I asked.

"She made the appointment weeks ago," Elena said, shuffling around the papers on her desk. "I go over to the boarding house twice a week for the past month to get everything in order for this stupid engagement party, and she still doesn't trust that I have everything sorted out." Finally, she pulled out a folder.

"Do you need my help with anything?" I asked.

"I can't deal with the two of you in a room either," Elena said distractedly going through the contents of the folder.

I wasn't offended. I didn't want to meet with Rebekah anyway.

"I'll go man the counter then," I said, pulling Kol behind me by the lapels of his jacket.

"Send her back when she gets here, please," Elena yelled after us.

As I went about getting ready for the day, Kol stood on the other side of the counter following my every move.

"What?" I finally asked in frustration.

"Rebekah found out about your date with Niklaus tonight," Kol said smartly.

"IT'S NOT A DATE!" I said harshly. "Wait. Shit. Rebekah?"

Kol gave me a sassy look.

"Oh, God," I complained as the bell tinkled and Rebekah glided in.

Rebekah had accused me three times so far of trying to ruin her wedding. Two of them had been in person, and one had been over the phone. She was getting more vicious with each accusation. It was getting to the point where I was getting slightly worried she was going to poison me to death just to get me out of the way.

"Caroline!" Rebekah yelled, marching over to me. "Are you trying to ruin my wedding?"

I mentally added a tick in my head to the "Caroline-is–ruining-the-Salvatore-Mikaelson-weddi ng" list. I was sure I would get up to at least twenty before the actual wedding got here.

Kol took a step away. Traitor.

"What have I done to you now, Rebekah?" I said, going about my business. It wasn't like I was afraid of Rebekah; I was just respectful of her growing bridezilla personality. It didn't go well with her already outstanding bitch personality.

"My brother," Rebekah snapped.

"You have, like, eight brothers, Rebekah," I said, wiping off the counter. "One of them is behind you."

I thought I heard Kol growl at me for calling his presence to Rebekah's attention.

"Nik," Rebekah said irritably.

It took me a minute to figure out who Nik was.

"How is Klaus and I having dinner ruining your wedding?" I asked.

"You're both in the wedding party!" Rebekah said like that explained it all. I stopped to give her a look, so she continued. "When you two break up, which you will because you are both relationship challenged, you'll bring all that awkwardness to my wedding and ruin it!"

I rolled my eyes. Leave it to Rebekah to make this about her.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me, Caroline Forbes!" Rebekah reprimanded.

"First of all," I said, finally realizing I wasn't going to get anything done with Rebekah standing there. I slammed my rag on the counter. "I'm not dating your brother, which means we won't break up. We're having dinner so that we can get to know each other, which is probably a good thing since we are both in your wedding. Second of all, I resent that you keep accusing me of ruining your wedding. You seem to forget that it's my best friend that your marrying, and I want him to have a perfect wedding. So far, if anyone is going to ruin this wedding, it's you."

"Snap," Kol said with a snap of his fingers. I gave him a look. Kol had a talent for making these situations worse.

Rebekah got as close as she could with the counter between us. "Don't get involved with my brother," she said through her teeth. She gave me a long look before she sashayed of towards Elena's office.

"Your sister is a crazy bitch," I said after I was sure Rebekah was out of earshot.

Kol jumped to sit on the counter. "You don't have to tell me."

"I would say thanks for trying to warn me," I said, "but I have a sneaking suspicion that you told her."

Kol grinned. "I'm afraid your were a causality in my constant war to irritate Bekah."

"Turncoat," I said, pushing him off the counter.

Kol grinned. "Well, now that I have done my good deed for the day, I'm off," he said. "Have a good date with my brother tonight."

"It's not a date!" I yelled after him.

He turned to give me a wink before he left.

Elena's meeting with Rebekah took two hours and when she got out she looked exhausted. I didn't blame her. Any interaction with Rebekah drained me.

After Rebekah left, Elena told me that Rebekah had changed at least two of the appetizers and added another dessert option. Elena had done drawings of three cakes just based on Rebekah and Stefan's personalities and the general theme of the wedding Rebekah had told her. Rebekah had hated them, so Elena had to start from scratch based on the extensive list of wants that Rebekah had given Elena. Rebekah requested a weekly meeting from now on. Keep in mind, this was just the cake and food for the _engagement party. _I couldn't imagine how stressed Elena was going to be about the food and cake for the actual wedding.

Rebekah had also told Elena that the bridesmaids were going to look at wedding dresses next weekend in New York. All expenses were being paid by the lovely Mr. and Mrs. Mikaelson. Since Elena was going to be gone half of Friday and all day Saturday, she was leaving me in charge, which included both opening and closing.

I was terrified.

As the day wore on, not only was I nervous about the coming weekend, but I was also a bit nervous to spend alone time with Klaus. I had made myself clear that this wasn't a date, but I wasn't sure my body had understood.

When 6:45 rolled around, Elena began to gather her things and gave me a spare key.

"This is actually your key," Elena said, pulling on her jacket. "I had it made for you a few days ago. I feel like we're supposed to make a big deal about this, but I'm exhausted."

I looked down at the key and realized that Elena really did trust me with her business. She was right. We should make a big deal about this, but I also had other things going on.

"Just remember to turn off the ovens and clean up," she said, walking towards the door. "You also might want to keep the door locked after he comes in. Just in case."

"It'll be fine, Elena," I said with a tight smile. "Thanks again."

"You know I did it just so you would feel like you had to give me details, right?" she said with a grin.

I rolled my eyes. "Alright," I agreed.

"Talk to you tomorrow," she said, pulling the door closed behind her. "Be at the Mikaelson's to set up at 4:30."

Then, I was alone.

I had never been alone in the bakery before. It was strange and super creepy, which is why I jumped almost a foot when Klaus knocked on the door.

"God," I breathed as I let him in. "You scared me."

He laughed. "I tend to have that affect." He shrugged off his coat and looked at me expectedly.

"Right!" I said brightly. "Well, our special today was spinach quiche, so we're having that. Then, you can help me make dessert because I didn't want to burn the place down before you got here."

"Sounds good," Klaus said with a smile.

"If you just want to pick a table, I'll go grab the quiche."

As I went about heating up the quiche, I realized I sounded like an idiot. I mean like a nervous idiot on a first date. Why did I feel the need to impress Klaus? This wasn't a date. He was just Kol's brother and Stefan's friend. I didn't have to impress him.

"Do you need help?" he asked from behind me.

I jumped. "God!" I said. "You walk like a ninja."

"Sorry," he said. "I'll announce myself next time."

We looked at each other for a minute before the microwave dinged.

I held the plate out to Klaus. "Dinner's ready."

"I didn't know you were a trained chef," he commented as he took the place.

I laughed and shoved his shoulder. I grabbed a couple of water bottles and forks on our way out of the kitchen.

Klaus picked a table, and I put the plate between us. Klaus picked up a fork and dug in.

"Very good," he said.

"I'll let Elena know," I said, taking a bite.

"So how does a beginning friendship dinner work?" Klaus asked.

I chewed thoughtfully. "I don't know," I said. "I've never had one before."

"So I'm your first?" he asked. His eyes were bright at his innuendo.

I gave him a twisted expression. "In this respect."

Klaus laughed, and I gave a slightly cheeky smile.

"So tell me about yourself," I said. I took a drink of water.

"What would you like to know?"

"Basic information," I said. "Then we'll get to the juicy stuff."

"That sounds slightly distressing," he said. "But basic information first. Alright. My name is Niklaus Mikealson. I'm 29 years old and a lawyer. My birthday is March 17. I have four brothers, Finn, Elijah, Kol, and Henrik, and one sister, Rebekah. I also have a sister-in-law named Sage, two nephews, and a niece. I like to spend time outside and reading."

"Favorite color?"

"Blue."

"Favorite holiday?"

"I don't care for holidays."

"You don't like holidays?" I asked. "Why?"

Klaus smiled thinly. "A story for another time."

I chewed on a bite of quiche.

"Does this mean it's my turn to ask you for basic information?" he asked.

I nodded and answered, "My name is Caroline Forbes. I'm twenty-four years old, and I work at a bakery. My birthday is November 18. I don't have any siblings or cousins. I like shopping, reading, and watching movies."

"Favorite movie?"

"_The Notebook_."

"Really?"

"It's a great love story," I defended.

"Alright, alright," Klaus calmed. "Favorite book?"

"_Pride and Prejudice_."

"Interesting," Klaus whispered.

"What's your favorite book?" I countered.

"_The Portrait of Dorian Gray_."

"Interesting answer as well," I said.

Klaus and I studied each other for a moment.

"I believe it's my turn again," Klaus said. "What's one thing no one knows about you?"

"We're just jumping right in," I said with a nervous chuckle. Klaus didn't say anything, but he smiled. "I like to sing."

"Sing for me," he said.

"I've never sung for anyone," I said.

"I dare you," he said, leaning just a bit closer to me. Something in his eyes made me want to do whatever he said, but I wasn't going to fall for it. I couldn't be that person anymore.

I shook my head. "You have to earn that."

"Something to work for," he said, with a sly grin.

"Okay, my turn," I said. "If you could change one thing in your past what would it be?"

"I would go to art school," he said, taking one of the last bites of quiche.

"You're an artist?" I asked. He didn't seem the type in the least.

Klaus chuckled. "Not a particularly good one, but yes."

"Can I see something you've done?" I asked.

Klaus smirked. "You have to earn that."

"Fair enough," I said, taking the final bite of the quiche. I smiled to myself.

"Shall we attempt to make that dessert you promised?" he asked. He finished off his water bottle.

"Sure," I said. "But you have to promise not to tell anyone, including Elena, it came out of a box."

Klaus laughed. "Promise."

I grabbed the plate and lead the way to the kitchen. "I'll warn you," I said, backing into the swigging door, "I'm a pretty good cook, but I'm a terrible baker. I don't have enough patience or attention span for it."

"Noted," Klaus said.

I washed the plate quickly and put it out to dry.

"Let's get started," I said, pulling the yellow cake mix from a hidden place on a shelf. "We need oil, eggs, and water. Also, measuring cups, a bowl, and a pan."

I showed Klaus where the dishes were, and I went on search for oil. What kind of oil do you even put in cake? It's canola because that's what Elena had, like, six bottles of.

"Okay, so we need ¼ cup of oil, two eggs, and two cups of water," I said. "You want to do the eggs?"

He cracked the first egg with one hand.

"How did you do that?" I asked in amazement.

Klaus grinned. "I like to cook," he said. He cracked the second egg the same way as the first.

"What?" I asked.

"I live alone, Caroline," he said, measuring out the oil like some kind of expert. He didn't even use the measuring cups. "I also used to spend a lot of time with our cook when I was young."

His cook? The Mikaelsons were even richer than I thought they were. Holy crap.

"Why didn't you say anything?" I asked. I was watching him in awe. I had never seen anyone, male or female, cook like this. It was like he had been trained.

"You never asked," he said, focusing on the batter. He stirred in the water.

Even before we put it in the pan, it looked fluffy.

"So you just whip up cakes in your spare time?" I asked.

He greased the pan and poured in the batter.

"I prefer tarts," he said. He grinned at my shocked expression. "You forgot to preheat the oven."

"Uhg, seriously?!" I asked, going over and turning on the oven.

"It just means we have time to make frosting," he said.

"You know how to make frosting?" I asked, from my position at the oven.

Klaus laughed. "No," he said, "but I can open the can."

I snorted as I flipped the knob on the oven to 350.

I felt a presence behind me.

"I assume the frosting is up here where you hid the cake mix," Klaus said after I turned to look at him.

We were close. Too close. I had to lean forward so my back didn't touch the increasingly hot oven, and he was leaning forward to grab the frosting from its hidden place on the shelf above me. He stopped mid-grab, and I stopped mid-lean.

I ran my index finger over his blue dress shirt. He had discarded his jacket before we had entered the kitchen, but now his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. For a dress shirt, it was relaxed and very unstiff. My eyes didn't leave the way the material stretched across his chest.

"I like your shirt," I whispered.

Klaus's arm went slowly to my waist, and I gulped when I felt the skin of his arm on mine.

"I like yours too," he said. His voice was very low and came out in an almost sexy growl. His fingers played with the lace of my shirt on my back. "You're really testing my self-control, Caroline."

I rested my palms on his chest as he began to lean closer to me. He stopped.

"I think the oven's ready," I said. I heard it click behind me to signal it was preheated. Well, that was lucky.

"We best put the cake in," he responded. But neither of us moved.

"I still have to clean out front," I said. I slide my hands down his chest. Jesus. I could feel his abs under his shirt. How did he have time to be a successful lawyer and have abs? "Can you handle cleaning up in here?"

"If that's what you want," he said. He ran his hand down my back, but I grabbed his wrist before his hand could land on my backside.

He looked down at me with a sad puppy dog face.

"This is a friendship dinner, remember?" I reminded. I noticed the quiver in my voice, but I hoped he hadn't.

"Maybe this is how I am with my friends," he said, resting his hand on my hip.

I couldn't help but give him a bit of a grin. "Your friendship with Stefan just got a lot more interesting."

I noticed Klaus give a slight scowl before he could control his face.

I slipped from his loose hold and took a few steps away. "The cake needs to bake for about 30 minutes. That should give me enough time to finish out front."

I felt his eyes on my back as I walked away.

* * *

**A/N: So this is the first half of Klaus and Caroline's "non-date." I had to split it up because something kinda big is going to happen in the second part of the date. Has that peaked your interest? Review, if you'd like!**


	16. Chapter 16

It took about twenty minutes of scrubbing every table in the bakery for me to get my libido under control. Why did Klaus have to be so charming? Why did he have to be so hot? Why did I care? I grumbled as I went to clean the counter.

I mean, granted I hadn't been out with any one but Tyler in 5 years (Kol _so _did not count), but I couldn't ever remember ever having to fight myself from being attracted to someone. I realized I was muttering out loud as I turned off the lights in the display cases.

"Elena must have a good oven because the cake is already finished," Klaus said from the kitchen door.

I jumped. I looked at him like a deer in headlights. Even though my mind had been racing over the evening, I had kind of forgotten he was still there.

"I didn't mean to startle you," he said. He was drying his hands on a towel. "I just thought you might want to help me ice the cake after it cools for a few minutes."

I nodded. "I just have to finish up out here," I said. My eyes went back to the closing procedures sheet, which I had memorized at this point. I had everything done, but I wasn't sure I needed to be in the kitchen with Klaus just yet.

"Caroline," Klaus said from beside me.

"God!" I exclaimed. "Make a noise or put some taps on your shoes or something!"

"I'll have my assistant look into it," he said. It sounded surprisingly genuine. He rested a hand on the counter so he could lean over and catch my eyes. "I'm sorry if I-."

"Stop apologizing," I said with a sigh. I pushed the list back under the till and looked at him full on. "It's truly not you. I'm just a mess."

"So you've said," he said. "I have yet to see this 'mess.'"

"We met in your living room with me in your brother's underwear having just slept with him," I said. "That doesn't imply mess to you?"

"I assumed you had your reasons," Klaus said. "I've made worse decisions in the sex department." There was a beat. "Don't tell Kol I said that."

"I can't afford any more bad decisions," I said.

"I would be a bad decision?" Klaus asked. He said it with a mixture of sadness, anger, and surprise.

"I don't know!" I said, turning away from him and walking a few paces. I ran an agitated hand through my hair. "All anyone has told me his how good you are at getting into woman's pants. I can't just be a conquest. I have to be better than that."

"That's what you think I'm trying to do?" Klaus asked. I could hear the anger rising in his voice. "I can guarantee to you, Caroline, if all I wanted to do was to get into your knickers, I would have done it long before now."

Even with my back turned, I knew he could tell that I flinched at his words.

"I am well aware of my reputation around this town," he continued. "I just thought you were intelligent and understanding enough to see above that and to get to know me instead of believing everything you hear."

I bit my lip. He was right. I, above everyone, should know better than to listen to town gossip and to base any real opinions on those words.

Klaus was rolling down his sleeves and pulling on his jacket.

"Klaus, stop," I said.

"I'm afraid I cannot," he said. "It's been over 2 weeks since I've had sex. According to the town, that is much to long for me. I've got to go get laid."

Over 2 weeks? He had walked me home just over two weeks ago. Did that have anything to do with it? No. It couldn't have. Just dream-minded Caroline. Always making something out of nothing.

However, I still couldn't let him leave like this. "Stop," I said. I knew it was more like pleading, but I couldn't stop it.

He did stop getting ready to leave for a moment to look at me. "Why?"

I racked my brain for something to say. "We haven't iced the cake!"

Klaus raised an eyebrow as if to say that wasn't enough.

"And I'm sorry," I said. It surprised me how sincerely I meant it.

"For?" he prompted.

"Judging you before I've actually gotten to know you," I said. "It's the same thing I didn't want you to do with me."

Klaus slipped off his jacket. "Thank you," he said. "Let's ice the cake."

To say the air in the kitchen was tense would have been an understatement. Klaus went about icing the cake while I watched. He was doing it so perfectly that I didn't want to mess him up. Was there anything this guy couldn't do?

"What kind of art do you do?" I asked, as I leaned against the counter to watch him.

Klaus stopped icing and looked up confused. "What?"

"You said that you were an artist," I said. "What kind of art do you do?"

"Mainly painting and sketching," he said, going back to icing.

"Painting, huh?" I said. I dipped my finger into the icing. "Like this?" I smeared the chocolate on his cheek.

Klaus stopped icing and put the container down. He looked at me with an open mouth.

I grinned up at him.

Klaus's face broke out into a grin as he grabbed my wrist. "Oh, I'll get you back for that!"

I started laughing as Klaus smeared icing on my nose and pulled me into his chest so I couldn't get away. I could feel and hear his laugh beside my ear. I reached to grab some more frosting for revenge. Klaus slyly moved it out of my reach.

"I don't think so, love," he said in my ear. He rubbed his cheek on mine to transfer the chocolate from him to me.

I laughed until I heard the front door open and slam closed.

"Klaus," I whispered. He relaxed his grip on me, sensing my change of mood. "Did you hear that?"

"What, sweetheart?"

"The front door."

"Maybe Elena forgot something," Klaus said, pulling me closer once again.

"She would have said something or called first," I said. I detangled myself and went to the kitchen door.

"Caroline," Klaus said. He walked in front of me and pushed his way out to the main floor. I followed.

"Elena?" I called to the dark haired girl trying to lock the door.

The girl turned around and gave me a sly smirk. "'Fraid not, Forbes."

"Katherine," I corrected.

The girl grinned. "The one and only," she said. "Well, sort of."

* * *

**A/N: So that's the "kinda big" thing-Katherine! She'll make waves just like you'd expect her to. Just wait & see. Review, if you'd like. Also, if anyone would like to take a crack at making a cover for this fic, I'd appreciate it. I'm really not very good with that kind of think, and I think it's about time it had one. PM your creation, if you do!**


	17. Chapter 17

"Katherine Gilbert in the flesh," I said. I ran to her and engulfed her in a hug.

I hadn't seen Katherine, Elena's twin sister, since she had come to visit me about two years ago in New York. After we graduated high school, Katherine had basically dropped off the planet. She decided she wanted to travel, and that's exactly what she had been doing. I would get the occasional postcard, like I'm sure Elena, Jeremy, and Bonnie did, so I knew she was still alive. However, seeing her in the middle of her sister's bakery in Mystic Falls seemed unreal.

"Never thought I'd see Caroline Forbes back in this shitty town," Katherine said, pulling out of our hug. Katherine had never been a hugger. I was surprised she even let me hug her to begin with.

"Don't even go there," I said with an eye roll. "What about you? Elena didn't tell me you were coming back.

"My dear twin didn't know," Katherine said. "I'm only here because I was threatened with death if was wasn't in town for every event dealing with Rebekah's wedding. She was especially threatening about this engagement party tomorrow. That bitch actually found me at the ski resort I was working at in Utah."

Rebekah really must not have any friends if she was calling in Katherine for the wedding party. Katherine had never been Rebekah's biggest fan but maybe something had changed.

"Why did you come to the bakery instead of your parent's house?" I asked.

"Uhg, with Damon and my sister?" she said with a dramatic eye roll. "Talk about torture. I have an apartment upstairs, thank God."

"There's an apartment upstairs?" I asked.

"The condition I made with Elena for giving her the rest of the money to buy this place," Katherine explained. "If I ever decided to stop traveling I had a ready-made apartment."

Suddenly the name of the bakery made much more since to me. Both of the twins were involved, so of course Elena would feel the need to include her sister in the name.

"Whatever about me though," Katherine said. "Apparently I've interrupted something." She looked over my shoulder at Klaus in the shadows.

"Katherine," Klaus said. I was a little confused as to how he knew her.

"Niklaus," Katherine said in an all too knowing way.

"Niklaus," I whispered to myself. I hadn't heard any one call him that. He was either Klaus or Nik, but never Niklaus.

Katherine wondered over to Klaus's position on the wall. "I haven't seen you since," she broke off in thought, "England, wasn't it? About three years ago?"

"You know when it was, Katherine," Klaus said tightly.

I stood there very awkwardly watching Katherine appraise Klaus. I didn't need anyone to tell me exactly _how_ they knew each other.

"I was just getting ready to go," I said. "You can lock up after you two get finished, can't you, Kat?"

"Caroline," Klaus said.

"You need to tell Elena you're here so she won't freak out when she get here in the morning," I said to Katherine. I walked past them to get my coat and purse from the office.

"Caroline," Klaus called from the doorway.

"It's fine," I said quickly, pulling on my coat without facing him. "You've had sex with Katherine. It's fine."

"Caroline, it was almost three years ago," Klaus said. "She was staying at our family flat in London with Rebekah. It was more out of convenience than actual desire. Nothing came of it."

"You don't owe me an explanation," I said. "We're friends. That's it."

"We're friends?" he asked. I couldn't help but notice the hint of hope in his voice.

I turned to see him smiling at me. I exhaled a breath I didn't realize I had been holding. "Friends," I said.

"Then will you please allow me to take you home?" he asked.

I didn't say anything for a moment.

"Please, Caroline," he said. "Don't let Katherine and my past ruin a perfectly good evening."

"One condition," I said.

Klaus wrinkled his brow in question.

"We take the cake," I said.

Klaus laughed. "Deal."

Thankfully, Katherine had already made her way upstairs by the time I had collected all my things, and Klaus had collected the cake. I turned off all the lights in the kitchen and locked the door, but made a mental note to blame Katherine's sudden reappearance for any messes that were left. Elena would be more than understanding, especially because I knew Katherine wouldn't call her to give her a heads up that she was staying at the bakery.

The ride to my house in Klaus's Mercedes was quiet. He had classical music playing softly, but other than that we didn't say anything. It wasn't uncomfortable, which made it uncomfortable to me. When we pulled into the driveway, I was relieved to see that my mom's cruiser was not in the driveway, which meant she was working the night shift.

"Would you like to come in for cake?" I asked.

Klaus tightened his hand on the wheel for a moment. I didn't know what that meant.

"I mean, you're really the one that made it," I babbled. "You should have some. I have milk!"

I have milk? Gez, Caroline. Get yourself together.

Klaus turned to give me a smile that I knew was to shut me up. "Lead the way, love," he said, leaning over to open my door.

I started fumbling for my keys while Klaus gracefully got out of the car. I would have dropped the cake if he hadn't been right beside me on my way up the stairs.

"You aren't the most coordinated bird I've ever met," he said, putting his free hand under my elbow to guide me up the last step.

I pulled my keys from my purse. "Can't all be perfect like you, Mr. Mikaelson," I mumbled. I pushed the door open and ushered him in.

"I'm far from perfect, Caroline," Klaus said as I shut the door and went to grab some plates.

"Name one thing you're not good at," I said, putting the plates on the table and pulling some forks and knife from a drawer.

"I'm rubbish ironing," he said. "Can never get the crease right in my pants."

I laughed. "I'm not sure that really counts." I cut two huge slabs of cake and put them on the plates.

"I'll have you know it does," he said, making himself comfortable at the kitchen table. "It's quiet embarrassing to have to go to work with a crooked crease."

I laughed as I poured two glasses of milk.

"What about you, Miss Forbes?" he asked, as I placed his glass of milk by his cake.

"What about me?" I asked, taking a seat beside him.

"What is one thing you're not perfect at?" he asked.

I had to pick just one? I was pretty horrible at most things in life at this point. I took a huge bite of cake to prolong the moment when I had to answer. Klaus also took a much more polite bite.

"I can't draw," I said. "At all."

Klaus smiled. "Does that often hinder your daily life?"

"Yes!" I said, gently kicking his shin under the table. "It's really hard to have to decorate for things when you have to trace everything! Also, stick figures that are all gender neutral don't really look good for all occasions."

Klaus laughed. "I can do a bit better than stick figures," he said. "Art and drawing isn't difficult you just have to find a way that works for you."

"Is that Klaus for 'I'll teach you to draw, Caroline'?" I asked, taking another bite of cake.

"If you would like," he said. I pretended not to notice his shoe tracing a path on my calf. In all honesty, I didn't know if he knew he was doing it.

"I'm afraid I'll have to look at some of your art first to see if I want to make that kind of commitment," I said.

He smiled down at his cake. "Fair enough," he said. "But I'll need something for making myself so venerable to your criticism."

"And what would that be?"

"Sing," he said.

I took a break from licking the frosting off my fork to look at him in surprise. He had remembered. He had actually been listening.

"We're not there yet," I said.

"What would make us there?" Klaus asked.

"You have to earn it," I said. "By showing that you're really friendship material. Even then, you have to become a best friend. I don't just sing for everyone."

Klaus chuckled. "So many rules," he said.

"Life needs some boundaries and rules," I said.

"Rules are overrated," Klaus said, leaning to get in my direct eye line.

"Says the lawyer."

Klaus smiled. "Touché."

I smiled as I reached to get his empty plate and added it to mine. I put them in the sink.

"Even though this night has had a few…moments, I've had a nice time," Klaus said. He stood up and pushed his chair under the table.

I leaned against the sink. "Me too," I said sincerely.

"I assume I've proven myself worthy of being on the Caroline Forbes radar?" he asked, leaning against the counter.

"You've been on the radar," I said. "Now I know that you're going to be there for a while."

Klaus smiled at his feet, and for a moment, I thought he didn't want me to see. "Would you like to do this again?" he asked.

"We didn't get into the heart-felt, gut-wrenching confessions tonight, so I guess we'll have to," I said, tossing my hair.

"Sounds like a plan."

"I'm going to be busy for the next couple of weeks because your sister has Elena thoroughly engulfed in wedding plans, but you know were I live now," I said.

"Does that mean you want me to show up unannounced?" he asked.

Oh,God. Is that what that sounded like? That's so embarrassing.

"I'm teasing, Caroline," Klaus said. "You've made yourself clear that we are just friends. I don't push myself where I'm not wanted."

I think even though he said it, he knew it wasn't true. He knew that I wanted him, and that's why he said it.

"I'll at least see you tomorrow," I said.

"Ah, yes, my dear sister's party," he said. "Should be a rousing evening for us all."

"If Rebekah doesn't kill me first."

"Rebekah's bark is far worse than her bite," he said.

I gave him a quirked expression of disbelief. He grinned.

"Well, I best be off," he said. "I have brunch with the family in the morning. I need all the beauty sleep I can get for that."

I smiled as I walked him to the door. "This was fun."

He looked at me.

"Well, it was mostly fun," I corrected.

He smiled. He reached out and took my hand. I bit my lip.

"I'm glad you've given me a chance, Caroline," he said. He leaned to my ear and whispered, "I will get you to sing."

I smiled, and he placed a chaste kiss on my cheek.

"See you tomorrow, love," he said, pulling the door open. After he gave me a final wink, I closed the door behind him.

I barely got the door closed before my knees gave out. I may have overestimated my self-control, and underestimated Klaus's charm. I might be in for a harder road ahead.

* * *

**A/N: So there's the end of Caroline and Klaus's non-date. Katherine is Elena's twin sister, did you see that coming? Also, Katherine and Klaus have a past, but what exactly is it? Ooo. Mystery. Next chapter will be the Salvatore/ Mikaelson engagement party. Hope you enjoyed it, and review, if you'd like!**


	18. Chapter 18

"I'm literally going to kill her."

Elena had been talking non-stop about Katherine's sudden reappearance since I had arrived at the Mikaelson mansion an hour ago. The girl must have been in fantastic shape to bitch and unload two cars worth of food.

The mansion looked just like I remembered it from high school. Big and gaudy, just like the majority of the Mikaelson family. However, I couldn't stop myself from a moment of appreciation at the meticulously decorated interior.

"I still think you should just kick her to the curb," Damon said, carrying the final boxes from his truck into the massive kitchen.

"You know I can't," Elena said. She quickly pulled her hair up, which was more a sign of her irritation than a sign she was ready to work.

"Why not?" I asked. Damon and Elena both looked at me like they had forgotten I was there.

"She's my sister," Elena said. She pulled a few serving platters from the boxes Damon brought in and handed them to me. "Wash those off, will you? They're clean, but Esther will find a flaw in them, I'm sure."

Ah, Esther Mikaelson, or as I called her, Senior Bitch. Rebekah had to get her attitude from somewhere, and it had to be her mother. Although I had never met her father, Rebekah's mother was too much like Rebekah to leave any room for someone else's genes. Esther had never liked me in the two encounters I had had with her while I was dating Kol and in school with Rebekah. I was not excited about dealing with her today.

I huffed as I trotted from the island to the massive sink. I had wanted to look nice, even though I was more of a worker than a guest today, but now I was seriously rethinking my four-inch heels.

"Elena, calm down," I heard Damon say. "You're going to stress yourself out."

"Damon," Elena said. I heard the waiver of trying to keep her calm. "I need you to get away from me. You aren't helping. Thank you for bringing the rest of the stuff, but I don't need to see you until the party tonight. Go home."

"Lena."

"Damon, I love you, but get out of my face!"

I pretended to be very intensely scrubbing a platter when Elena came over to add a few other dishes to my pile.

"Ask about it," she said. She held out her hand for the dish to quickly dry it.

"Ask about what?"

She gave me a look.

"You _are_ in a mood," I said. I finished the last dish.

"It's Katherine," she said. "Every time she rolls into town, it's, like, she brings out the worst in me."

"Maybe it's a twin thing," I suggested. I took the dried dishes and moved them back to the island.

"I doubt it."

Elena brought over the rest of the dishes. She pointed at one of the pink boxes, and I brought it to her.

"Why is she even in the wedding?" I asked as Elena started arranging the cupcakes on the three-tiered platter she had just assembled.

She rolled her eyes. "She and Rebekah had this big bonding session when Kat ended up in London a few years ago. I don't know what happened, but apparently they are like best friends or something."

I brought a second box of cupcakes for Elena to finish the display.

"So why are you taking this out on Damon?" I asked. "Not that I don't think he deserves the occasional verbal slap."

"Because my husband is an idiot."

"He's always been an idiot, but you still married him," I said. I moved the finished cupcake display to one of the tables Damon had set up before Elena had kicked him out.

"He's the one that found Kat in the bakery this morning," she said. She busied herself putting dips and spreads on the different platters. I went behind her arranging crackers and fancy pieces of breads next to them.

"He tried to kick her out, didn't he?" I asked.

"He has no right to do that," Elena said, shaking her head. "The bakery is mine and Katherine's. As much as I wish it was just mine, I couldn't have done it without her. She didn't have to help me, but she did. She has every right to be there. Also, she's my sister! Family means something!"

I gave Elena a little bit of a side eye. She was being a little too passionate for the situation. I mean, I was there when she tried to cut some of Katherine's hair off in her sleep. She couldn't be that passionate about family ties when it came to Katherine. But I was smart enough not to say anything.

"And if he's not bitching about Katherine or Jeremy, he's talking about money," she continued, focused on going back and decorating the platters with garnish. "He is on my last nerve."

This was the Elena that I was always concerned existed. I had mainly seen sweet, caring Elena since I had been back. Now, I was seeing the nitty, gritty Elena. I kind of liked it. Made her seem human.

We were silent for a few minutes as Elena put the final touches on the platters.

"Can you start to pull some of those tables into the great room?" Elena asked. "Esther wanted them positioned and decorated by six-thirty. Can you take care of that for me?"

"Sure."

I went to the stack of long rectangular tables and pulled one out.

"Caroline," Elena called just before I got out of the kitchen.

I looked up.

"Thanks for that," she said. "I don't usually get to vent to anyone. Bonnie would tell Jeremy, who would threaten to beat up Damon. It's a cycle, but anyway, thanks."

I smiled. "No problem. Everything can't be perfect all the time. You've got to vent to fake being normal."

"Don't I know it."

* * *

My shoes lasted until I had to take the second table into the massive great room. Four-inch Jessica Simpson's were not meant for hauling tables. Besides, no one was around. Mikaelsons would not belittle themselves by being around the help.

Thankfully, tonight wasn't a full dinner, but more of a buffet of snacks and desserts, both which were Elena's specialties. It also meant it was easier for me to set up. The Mikaelsons had hired movers to move all the regular great room furniture, so I didn't have to do that. I just had to set up a million tables of different sizes and shapes.

Also, I had to decorate the room with the wedding colors, which were black, red, and white. Rebekah had wanted pink, but Stefan had talked her into red. I would have vomited if I had to decorate for Stefan's wedding with pink.

"Are these really the tablecloths we decided on?" a voice said from the entryway.

I froze in the middle of making a ribbon bow to put on the main serving table. Esther Mikaelson-striking fear in the hearts of children.

I turned. "Yes, ma'am."

Esther made her way down the two steps down into the room. Every time her heels clicked on the ground my heart sped up.

The matriarch of the Mikaelson clan had literally not changed since I met her when I was seventeen. Her hair, like Rebekah's, was unnervingly blonde, and her face was beautiful. Like all of her children that I had met, she carried herself with an air of importance. At the moment, she was dressed in a dark green cocktail dress that would have looked ridiculous on any other woman her age, but on her, it made you feel ashamed of yourself.

"Is there anything we can do about the color?" she asked, touching the red tablecloths Rebekah requested be on all of the guest tables.

"Those are the ones Rebekah wanted," I said.

Esther finally seemed to actually notice me then. "My daughter doesn't have the eye for color she believes she does."

I just stood there with my wad of ribbon in my hand.

"Perhaps the flowers will help," she said. "What are they again?"

"White roses."

Esther made a disgruntled noise. "And where are they? I would like to see them."

"They are in the refrigerators in the garage to keep them fresh for as long as possible."

Esther looked up at me with a hard look. That was the difference I had found with Rebekah and her mother. They were both entitled and had attitudes, but with Rebekah you didn't fear for your life. Every time you had a run-in with Esther, you had an adrenaline rush every time you got away.

"Fetch them," Esther said with a wave of her hand.

I bit my lip and put down my ribbons. It wasn't until then that I realized that I didn't have on shoes. I wasn't brave enough to turn and look of what Esther's face was like. I quickly padded to the garage.

It wasn't until I got to the garage that I realized there was no possible way for me to get one of the boxes of flowers into the house. I should have left a door opened or something.

"I hate to break this to you, but we usually ask that guests keep on their footwear while visiting."

I jumped and turned at the voice. "Klaus," I exhaled, with a hand on my chest.

"Caroline," he greeted calmly. He gave me his usual smirk that I was already becoming too used to.

"Shit!" I said suddenly. If Klaus was here, that must mean it was time for the party! Was I really that behind? I tugged the flower box out of the fridge.

Klaus looked startled. "What?"

"If you're here, it means it's time for the party!" I said, padding to the door of the garage.

"I'm over an hour early, sweetheart," he said, walking over to me. "I have a meeting with Mikael before the festivities."

Mikael? He called his dad Mikael? And I thought my parent/ child relationship was bad. "Thank, God," I said. I rested the box on top of the fridge. "In that case would you mind opening the door for me?"

Klaus chuckled. "Sure." He reached around me to open the door.

I scuttled in, and Klaus followed.

"So where are your shoes?" he asked. He was following me to the great room, where Esther was probably blowing steam waiting for me.

"Oh, right," I said. I handed the box to him as we passed through the butler's pantry so I could grab my shoes. "I was moving tables earlier, and my shoes weren't really helping the process."

I kept my eyes on him as I slipped on my shoes. I pretended not to notice how his eyes trailed up my legs. I reached out my arms for the box. He shook his head.

"I've got it," he said. "It's sounded like you've done your share of heavy lifting for the day."

I smiled. "Thanks."

We continued to the great room where Esther had already disassembled my bow and had made her own. I was pissed because it was better.

"Oh, good, you're back, Virginia," she said, turning to look at me.

Virginia? She thought my name was Virginia? I was probably the longest relationship Kol had ever had, and she thought my name was _Virginia_? I was her only daughter's worst enemy, and she thought my name was _VIRGINIA?!_

"Her name is Caroline, Mother," Klaus said with a slight bite in his voice. He sat the flowers down on the main serving table.

"Oh, Niklaus, how wonderful to see your, darling," she said, going over to Klaus and kissing both of his cheeks. "Mikael is waiting in his office for you."

I was sure I caught Klaus rolling his eyes.

"Don't do that, Niklaus," Esther said, turning away. "It's very unattractive."

Klaus made a similar disgruntled sound his mother had made earlier. "I suppose I better go see him," he said. He reached for my hand, and I noticed Esther studying us with a squinted glare. "Until tonight." He kissed my hand before walking away.

I bit back a smile. How can one person be that charming? How could someone be that charming _in front of their mother_?

"Put the arrangement on a few tables," Esther said, calling me back to reality. "I would like to see how they look." She didn't even say please.

I quickly bustled to work.

"I see my son is fond of you," Esther noted. I looked to see her critiquing my flower placement, so I tried to adjust them just a little. I was sure it wouldn't help.

"Klaus is a nice guy, uh, I mean, man," I said. I tried not to focus that I had just said 'uh.'

"Niklaus is a very driven individual," Esther said, looking at the arrangements on the tables. "Try one of these black napkins on the top of the table. Perhaps that will help."

I grabbed a cloth napkin and spread it out under the flower arrangement and replaced the flowers. I had to admit that it did look better.

"We'll just have to use white napkins instead of black," Esther said. "Do that to all the tables."

I began to busy myself.

"Although my son is quite driven," Esther continued while I worked, "he does have the habit of becoming derailed by frivolous…desires."

I stopped placing napkins. "I'm sorry?"

"You seem to be a _nice_ girl," Esther said, coming to me, "but I'm afraid you are not compatible with Niklaus."

What?

"What?" I asked.

"I am fully aware of the reputation my son created for himself in this town," Esther said, walking towards me. "But he does not act with women the way he just acted with you."

"I'm not sure that any of your business," I said. I surprised myself by saying it, but I wasn't embarrassed.

"You're not a mother, so you wouldn't understand," Esther said. "Your children's lives never stop being your concern, especially when it comes to who they align themselves with romantically."

"Align themselves with romantically"? She was talking like it was a business partnership, not love. Not that I was in love with Klaus. I mean, obviously I wasn't. But it made my blood boil slightly that Esther didn't think I was good enough.

"Klaus has not aligned himself with me in anyway," I said, going back to my napkins. Maybe if I worked, I could control the anger and tears rising within me.

"I know my son," Esther said directly in front of me. I had no choice, but to look her in the eyes. "If he wants you, he will get you, and I will not allow his successful life to interrupted by someone like you."

I swallowed. Someone like me?

"Now, after you finish with these tables, you need to begin to bring out the food," Esther said, turning to walk away. "I'm assuming the food is prepared."

"I'll, um, check," I said quickly. I hurried off to the kitchen. I would not allow that woman to see me cry. I wouldn't give her that power.

"Everything ready?" Elena asked as soon as I came in.

I didn't respond because my mind was still racing from what Esther had said. Esther didn't think I was good enough for Klaus? I wasn't even dating Klaus. Why was I offended? Why wasn't I good enough? I might have been off my game lately, but I was a Forbes. I was Caroline. Why wasn't that good enough? Did Klaus not think that was good enough either?

"Care, you alright?"

I looked up at her and bit back tears.

This was going to be a fun night.

* * *

**A/N: So there's the first half of the engagement party, and you've gotten introduced to Esther. I think the Mikaelson parents are two of the most terrifying characters on the show-just saying. Hope you enjoyed it! Review, if you'd like.**


	19. Chapter 19

"You and Elena did an excellent job. Thank you," Stefan said to me later that night.

After Elena calmed me down (it only took seven and a half minutes because I knew we were in a time crunch), she went to deal with Esther while I stayed in the kitchen to arrange the rest of the food. Thankfully, Elena had the majority of it done, and she didn't even look that upset when I brought out the plates I fixed.

"Thank Esther," I said, looking over at the food to make sure everything was still well-stocked. Even after Elena and I had arranged all the food, Esther went through and rearranged it all. Elena was not happy.

"She gave you a hard time I take it." He took a swig of his whiskey.

I didn't want to get Stefan started, so I just said, "She's worse than Rebekah."

"I'll let Rebekah know that you've come to a new appreciation of her."

I gave him a dirty look, and he smiled at me.

"Still too soon for you to think of her as your sister?" he asked, looking over at his wife-to-be who was showing off her ring to some impeccably dressed people I didn't know.

"It will always be too soon."

Stefan laughed. "Thank you for doing this, Care. I know it hasn't been easy for you, but I appreciate it."

"Only for you, Salvatore," I said, bumping him with my hip.

He put an arm over my shoulder and kissed my forehead. "Have I told you lately that I'm glad you're back?"

"I knew you would be, so I ruined my life to make it possible."

"Ooo, sarcasm," he said with a laugh. "I need to go mingle, but I'll see you again before you leave, right?"

"I have to stay and clean up, so I'll be around."

He squeezed my shoulders before he wondered off to talk to some men in suits.

It wasn't as though I'd had a bad night. Really, besides the whole Esther thing, it had been fine. Elena and I had been rushing around making sure to clean off tables and stock food, but it had calmed down considerably an hour into the party. However, Esther's words had stuck in my mind all night.

I went to grab an empty platter, and on my way to the kitchen, I ran into Kol for the first time that night.

"CAROLINE!" he said excitedly. With that, I could tell he was drunk. How did he manage to get drunk at an engagement party? Kol has talents I can only dream about.

"Where have you been all night?" I asked, grabbing his arm and dragging him to the kitchen because a couple of the older ladies by the buffet were staring.

"Well, I was almost an hour late, which didn't please my mother," he explained, grabbing some of the crackers from the box I was reaching for. "After that, I've been keeping Ric company at the bar. Very interesting bloke."

I snorted feeling sorry for Alaric.

"What about you?" he asked, munching on a cracker. "Have you spent any quality time with my brother this evening?" He gave me a wink.

I gave him a glare. "I haven't seen Klaus." I arranged a couple of crackers.

Technically, that was true. After he had left me to talk with his father, I hadn't seen him. I had heard a rather aggressive door slam about fifteen minutes later, but I didn't relay that to Kol.

"How disappointing," Kol said. "You're starting to get all tight ass again. I was hoping he would sort you out."

I looked at him with outrage and hit him in the head with the box of crackers.

"Why do I talk to you?" I asked.

He quickly grinned at me before stuffing another cracker in his mouth. I rolled my eyes and continued to arrange the platter.

"There you are, Kol."

I turned towards the voice that had entered the kitchen. It belonged to a man that I estimated to be in his early thirties. He had dark hair that was almost black and walked with one hand in his expensive-looking dress trousers. He had a look on his face that dared any one to challenge him, and he moved like he owned every step he took. He was a Mikaelson. I knew before Kol said it.

"Dear brother," Kol drawled. "Has mother sent you to fetch me?"

"You know 'fetching' has always been more of Finn's talent," the man said, moving towards Kol.

Okay. The Mikaelson siblings. There was Finn, Klaus, Kol, Rebekah, Henrik, and-.

"Elijah," Kol whined. "I was just having a bit of fun."

Elijah came to stand in front of Kol and studied him for a moment. It was then that I realized that I had stopped working and started to stare.

Elijah looked up at me. "I beg your pardon," he said to me, "but would you mind giving my brother and I a moment alone? I apologize if he was bothering you."

I had just been told to go away, but he had said it so politely I wasn't offended. He was literally a mixture of Esther's directness and Klaus's charm. It was a bit chilling.

I started to move when Kol said, "It's just Caroline. You don't have to leave! Stay and listen to my successful big brother ridicule me. It will be fun."

It was then that Elijah directed his gaze towards me again. "Caroline," he said with recognition.

"Yes?" I whispered.

"I've heard quite a bit about you," he said. He was studying me even harder than he had studied Kol. I felt very exposed. I tried to stand up a bit straighter.

"From Kol?" I asked.

"No," he said. He offered no explanation as to who he had "heard" about me from.

"She's quite pretty, isn't she?" Kol said, oblivious to Elijah's observations. "Wait 'til she walks away. That bum." He whistled.

I smacked him with the cracker box again.

"Ow."

I looked up to see an amused look on Elijah's face. It wasn't really a smile, but it was close. I felt a little proud.

"Kol, you really should go to your room before you embarrass Rebekah," Elijah said.

Kol made no effort to move, but he started to pick at my arranged crackers until I smacked his hand away.

"I saw Father making his rounds a few minutes ago," Elijah continued. "He didn't look very happy with your blossoming friendship with the bartender."

Kol's eyes widened momentarily before he controlled himself. "This party is boring anyway," he said. "How many of these people do Bekah and Stefan even know? Most of the people here are older than Father."

"You know as well as I do that any party is the opportunity to network," Elijah said. He took his hand out of his pocket so he could straighten his tie.

"Networking is boring," Kol whined.

I snorted as I finished with my platter.

"Kol," Elijah said a little more sternly.

"Oh, all right," Kol said. "I'll go to my room, but you really need see someone about getting that stick removed from your arse." He hopped down from his perched position on a stool and swaggered to the concealed staircase in the corner of the kitchen.

I looked after him and rolled my eyes. Oh, drunk Kol. How I hadn't missed that.

"I'm Elijah, by the way," Elijah said, calling my attention back to him.

"I gathered." I wiped my hands on a towel.

He looked at me expectantly.

"Caroline Forbes?" I said unsurely.

"I know," he said. What was it about this family and their uncanny ability to make me feel self-conscious?

"Nice to meet you, you know, formally," I said awkwardly. "I would shake your hand, but I've been working."

"I understand," he said with a nod. "It's very considerate of you to work this party considering your relationship with my sister."

I scowled. Rebekah. Rebekah had told her family about her hate for me? I had hoped she had just ranted to Klaus, but I guess I was wrong.

"I work with Elena," I said. "And Stefan is my best friend."

"I'm aware," he said. Did everything this guy says have to be super cryptic?

"Um, I better get this tray back out there," I said, awkwardly grabbing the platter. "It was nice to meet you."

"You as well," he said. "I believe we'll see each other a great deal over the coming months. It was nice to meet you before everything got too chaotic."

I gave him an overly perky smile as I made my way out of the kitchen. I couldn't fight the feeling that he was taking Kol's advice and was looking at my ass while I walked away.

* * *

The party ended at nine, and Elena and I were allowed to leave at 10:30. And by "allowed to leave" I mean Esther finally decided that she would just get the maids (yes, maids plural) to finish cleaning tomorrow. After promising Elena that I would be in early to help her unload her SUV, I finally made it home just after eleven.

My mother, who hadn't even bothered to make an appearance at the party, was still at work, so I had a grand plan to take a long bath to wash away my hate of Esther. That was until I heard the bushes rustling as I approached my porch.

"Hello?" I called. I tightened my grip on my keys and wondered where that mace my mom gave me ended up. It was probably still in the apartment in New York.

"Caroline," a voice said, coming from behind the bushes.

"Klaus?" I asked.

He finally emerged from the bushes with his hands raised in a sort of surrender. His usual suit was slightly tattered, and his hair was sticking up in the back.

"I was waiting on the porch," he said, "but I seem to have fallen into your shrubbery."

He was drunk? What was it with these Mikaelsons and their hooch tonight?

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

He staggered over to me. "I'm not sure," he said. "I was having a drink, and I just ended up here."

I noticed the cuts on his hands and the rip in the knee of his pants. There were even a few scratches on his face.

"Klaus," I said, slowly walking to him, "you're bleeding."

Klaus looked down at his hands. "Oh, I believe I am."

"Come in," I said, touching his elbow. "You need to get that cleaned up."

After I opened the door, I got Klaus settled on the couch while I found our first aid kit. When I came back to the living room, I figured out there was a major difference between drunk Klaus and drunk Kol. When Kol drank, he got even more loud and obnoxious than usual. Apparently, when Klaus drank, he just got quiet, like scary quiet.

He had settled himself in the middle of the couch and was resting his elbows on his knees. I bent down in front of him and reached for his hand. I dabbed it with a cotton ball that I had put some disinfectant on.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

"What happened?" I asked, still dabbing because there was still blood.

"I don't do this," he said.

"Don't do what?" I asked.

"Lose control."

He was quiet after that. As I dabbed his hands and his knuckles, I wondered what he meant. Had he meant the drinking? For some reason I didn't think so.

"I need to get to your knee," I said.

He pulled up his pants leg. There was a scar on his calf that I didn't stop my thumb from moving over.

"Mikael did that," he said.

"What?" I asked, looking up.

"When I was ten, Mikael took me to shoot archery," he said. "I was terrible, but it was the only time he ever took me, and me alone, to do any thing. He always did things with Finn or Elijah, then with Kol and Henrik. I was so excited. Then, about an hour in, he just started yelling at me. 'You can never do anything, Niklaus!' 'Why can you never succeed at anything?' Then, he said if I didn't at least hit the target on the next round, he would show me some consequences for wasting his time. Needless to say, I didn't hit the target."

"He shot you?"

"Just nicked me really, but I still had to get stitches," he said.

"That's terrible," I said. I hadn't noticed that my hand was still wrapped around his calf, but I didn't move it.

"Not the worst thing he's done."

I picked up another cotton ball and dabbed his knee.

"What happened tonight?" I asked. "When you talked to your dad?"

"I shouldn't have let him get to me."

I put a Band-Aid on his knee. "What did he say to you?" I rolled down his pant leg and sat down beside him on the couch.

"It doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters," I said. "He's your dad! He's supposed to support you. He's supposed to be your dad!"

He turned to me and had a sad smile on his face. "I like that you think that. You're lucky to think that." He reached out and touched my cheek. "I don't know why I told you all that. I've never told any body that."

I didn't know why he told me either. There was something about him that I trusted and wanted to know, and he must have felt the same about me.

I smiled and touched his hand. He smiled back.

"Could I have some water?" he asked. "I have a feeling that I may have overdone it on the bourbon. My mouth's a bit dry."

I laughed. "Sure." I patted his knee.

When I got back, Klaus had curled up on the couch. I rubbed his shoulder. He took the glass of water and drained it. I resumed my seat, and there wasn't much space between my thigh and Klaus's head. He turned and looked at me with his drooping eyes.

"Why are you such a kind person?" he asked. "How?"

I looked down at him. "I'm really not," I said. I had said it trying to be modest, but I realized it was true. I thought of all of the instances in my life that I had been anything but kind and I told they outweighed the instances I had been.

Klaus ran his hand up my leg. It should have been a sexy touch, but for some reason it wasn't. I knew he didn't mean for it to be.

"You are though," he insisted quietly. "You're beautiful, you're strong, and you're so full of light. How is that possible? How are you possible?"

"Klaus," I said in a pained way. Would he be telling me this if he wasn't drunk on my couch? I didn't want to hear anything he would regret saying.

"I enjoy you," he said. "I don't know what happened to make you so uncertain of yourself, but you're perfect. You need to know that. I need you to know that."

"Klaus," I said again.

He didn't say anything, and I realized that he was passed out. He had his arm across my lap, and his cheek was resting against my thigh. I slowly slipped from his light hold, so that I could pull the blanket from the back of the couch to cover him. I would have taken off his shoes, but I didn't want to over step any boundaries. Even in his sleep, he didn't look peaceful. His brow was furrowed like he was already involved in an intense dream. I couldn't stop my hand from running over his head. He let out a soft 'hmmm,' and I smiled.

I quickly pulled my hand back. I couldn't enjoy this. I couldn't enjoy him. I couldn't be falling for him. I couldn't.

* * *

When I woke up early the next morning, Klaus was gone. There wasn't a note or anything, but he had folded the blanket and put it at the end of the couch.

* * *

**A/N: So you've got a drunk Klaus and typical caring Caroline, but what does this mean? What's going to happen next? Hope you liked this chapter. It's one of my favorites so far! Thanks for reading, and review if you'd like!**


	20. Chapter 20

Days passed, and I didn't hear from Klaus. He didn't even come into the bakery for his usual lunch. I was pretty sure he was avoiding me this time. I know that if I had shown up drunk on his front porch and told him he was perfect I would have been doing some serious avoiding.

I had thought multiple times about going to his office or his apartment, but I didn't want to show up uninvited only to have him say that he didn't mean any of the things he had said because that would have been embarrassing and it would be my turn to avoid then. I didn't even have his phone number to call and make sure he wasn't dead, and I didn't want to ask Kol or Stefan in fear of starting something.

That's where I found myself on Saturday after a week of stewing over everything. Elena had left Friday afternoon with Rebekah, Katherine, Bonnie, and Rebekah's sister-in-law for New York for the big bridesmaid dress shopping extravaganza. She had called me exactly seven times since then "just to check on things" even though she assured me that she trusted me.

I was on call number eight when I said, "Elena, everything is fine. I'm getting ready to close up."

I was actually getting ready to close up so I could spend some time with Stefan. Planning a wedding and working at the hospital had seriously cut into our friendship time. With Rebekah out of town and a rare night off from rounds, Stefan and I had an exciting night of Chinese food and _Lost_ reruns planned.

"I'm just making sure that Jeremy came in to fix the oven," Elena said. I could hear Rebekah cackling in the background.

"Yes, Elena," I said, pulling a tray from the display and putting it on the counter. "Everything is fine."

"I just worry," she said. "You know that I do."

"Have fun, Elena," I said, stacking the trays for April to wash. "You never take time off. Enjoy it." And stop calling me, I wanted to add.

"Okay," she said. "I know you're right. I will. I'll be back on Monday. Everything will be fine."

I rolled my eyes as I heard the bell over the door tinkle. I was irritated that someone had come in so close to closing time until I looked up and saw that it was Klaus.

"Um, Elena, I've got to go," I said.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" she asked. I didn't respond before I clicked the phone off.

Klaus was dressed very differently from the way I had ever seen him. Instead of a tailored suit, he was wearing jeans, a henley top, a leather jacket, and heavy boots. And, damn, if he didn't look hotter than usual.

"Hi," I said tentatively.

"Hi," he said with a small smile.

We just looked at each other for a moment before he walked a little closer.

"Sorry to come so close to closing time," he said, "but I was hoping we could talk."

I bit my lip. "Yeah," I breathed. Why was I being so weird? All breath-y and my heart was thumping in my chest. I didn't have to be nervous. He did. He's the one who had been avoiding me all week. I tried to straighten up a little.

He was looking at me expectantly.

"Uh, I've got some stuff I have to do before I can leave," I said. "Would you mind waiting?"

"Of course," he said. "I just didn't want to show up at your house uninvited again." He went over to a booth and made himself comfortable.

I went over to the door and flipped the sign to closed and locked the door. I went around trying to do my regular closing chores, but I could feel his eyes on me.

"Okay, this is weird," I said, throwing my rag forcefully on the counter.

"Would you prefer I come back?" he asked.

"No, because who knows if you actually will," I said irritably.

He stood up then and walked over to me. "What does that mean?" he asked.

"You come to my house, drunk by the way, and tell me I'm beautiful and full of light, whatever that means, and then I don't see you for a week," I said heatedly, crossing my arms.

"Yes." He said it like I was supposed to elaborate on what I had said.

"Who does that?" I asked.

"Horrible people," he said simply.

I scowled, thinking he was joking.

"What do you want me to say, Caroline?" he asked.

What did I want him to say? That it was all true? That it wasn't true at all?

"I don't know," I said, turning around.

"Thank you," he said.

"What?"

"For talking me down," he said. "I don't usually have anyone to do that for me."

I looked up at him surprised.

"I would say I'm sorry for everything—showing up and for what I said—but I'm not," he continued. "I don't do what I did that night. Both the drinking and whatever else you want to call it."

I turned around to see him standing as close as he could to the counter, and to me.

"What did you do that night?" I asked.

"Trust people," he said. "Trust a person."

I was silent.

"Trust is a weakness, Caroline," he said. "I'm not weak, but I am with you. You make me forget myself."

"Should I be offended?" I asked. Telling someone they were your weakness wasn't exactly flattering, was it?

"I can't tell you what to do," he said. "I know you enough to know that."

"That's not what I meant," I said.

"It's like I told you on the night of Halloween," he said. "There's something about you that I'm drawn to. I'm always in control. Always. Except when it comes to you."

"Why do you say things like that?" I asked.

"Like what?"

"You know what," I said.

"Why are you so upset?"

"I can't like you," I said. "I can't be attracted to you."

He looked slightly hurt. "Why not? Is there someone else?"

Was there someone else? Was I still not over Tyler, or was I standing in my own way? Or was it something else entirely?

"Caroline," Klaus said, bringing me out of my thoughts and back to him.

"I just can't," I said. "You have to stop telling me that I'm beautiful, and you think I'm strong. I don't want to give you the wrong idea, and I can't be anything more than friends with you."

Klaus's jaw hardened, like he was angry with me. "I'll change your mind."

"Please don't try," I asked. I almost said it pleadingly.

We starred at each other for a moment before the front door of the bakery flew open, and Damon stepped in. I jumped back in surprise.

"What happened?" he asked.

"What?" I asked, taking in Damon's wide eyes. He couldn't be talking about Klaus and I could he? I mean, it literally just happened.

"Elena called and said something had happened for you to hang up on her," he said, looking around like the ceiling was going to be on fire.

"I swear!" I exclaimed. "Nothing's happened! She's driving me crazy! I just had other things going on!"

Damon's eyes then shifted to Klaus, and he raised an eyebrow.

I met his eyes and dared him to say something. "If you value your life Damon, you will leave me to close this store on my own," I said, pointing at him.

"Touchy, touchy, Barbie," he said with a smirk. "Just don't hang up on Elena again, and I won't have to rush in to save the day."

I glared at him, and he laughed.

"I'll be off," he said. "You two kids have fun."

After he closed the door behind him, I tried to get back to my work.

"You can't ignore me, Caroline," Klaus said. "You need time. I understand, but I'm not the only one of us that feels something. You cannot convince me otherwise."

He had come around the counter to stand beside me.

I turned so that we were face to face, inches away. "You, um, can't be back here," I said quietly.

He smiled and ran his hands down my arms.

I looked up at him without blinking. "I need to finish closing," I said.

He squeezed my wrist and let me go. "Alright, if that's what you want," he said. "I'll see you around, sweetheart."

I couldn't even move until he closed the door behind him.

* * *

"He what? My brother is an idiot," Stefan said later that night, sitting down on the couch.

I had relayed the horror story of Damon interrupting my conversation with Klaus. Stefan had asked why I had been over forty-five minutes late, and I had no choice but to tell him about Klaus coming to talk at the bakery. I had kept out the part about him showing up the night of the engagement party because that didn't seem like something he needed to know.

"God, I know," I said, settling on the couch with a beer in hand. I propped my feet on the coffee table.

"So you and Klaus…" he prompted.

"Don't say it like that," I warned.

"Like what?" he asked. "I said that with absolutely no judgment."

I gave him a look. "I don't think that's possible for you," I said. "Unless you turned your emotions off."

"Ha," Stefan barked sarcastically. "Anyway, what's going on with that?"

"Nothing," I said.

"Caroline."

"What?" I asked a little outraged. "I am in no place for a relationship, and weren't you one of the multitude who warned me not to get involved with him in the first place?"

"That was before I saw the two of you together," he said. "Even I'll admit the two of you had a lot of chemistry at the Halloween party."

I took a long drink of my beer.

"Klaus doesn't invest time in people if he doesn't think they will have some purpose in his life," Stefan said. "Especially women."

"So?"

"Just don't write him off," Stefan said. "That's all I'm saying. Maybe you would both be good for each other."

I looked forward and pretended to ignore him.

"Don't do that, Caroline," he said. "I'm your best friend. I have the right to give you my opinion on your life."

I turned to give him a frown. "I broke up with Tyler less than six months ago," I said. "I'm still getting myself back together, and you're trying to get me to-."

"I'm not trying to get you to do anything," Stefan interrupted. "You're too strong-willed for anyone to truly make you do anything. I'm just trying to get your to open your mind to the idea of at least getting to know him."

I scowled again.

"You know I'm right," he said.

"Doesn't mean I like it," I mumbled.

Stefan smiled. "That's my girl," he said, putting an arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his side. I rested my head on his shoulder and wrapped an arm around his middle.

"I've missed this," I said.

I could feel his smile on my forehead. "What?" he asked. "Me being judgmental?"

"You being around to be anything," I said. "I've missed being able to talk to you about my messed up life in person."

"I've missed trying to fix your fucked up life in person," he said. I hit him in the stomach, and he laughed. "I've missed you too. Now, let's start this marathon before too much more girl-talk."

I smiled, snuggled into my best friend's side, and pretended I wasn't thinking about someone and something else.

* * *

**A/N: So a little bit of the result of Klaus's drunken confession, and best friend time with Stefan. A little filler, I know, but I think it's necessary. Thanks for reading, and review if you'd like.**


	21. Chapter 21

"Hey, Care, can you hand me those tongs?" Elena said over a week later.

I had some choice words with her when she had returned on Monday. The main ones were 'I thought you trusted me' and 'Control your husband.' Of course, Elena had a talent of making you quickly forgetting you were ever angry at her in the first place, which was made me momentarily more annoyed. We had moved on from that, but she was very curious about Klaus appearing after hours again. It took too much work to convince her nothing was going on.

I placed the tongs in her hand a little too forcefully, and she frowned at me. I couldn't help it. I was upset. It was November 18, which was my twenty-fifth birthday, and she hadn't said anything to me; not even a simple happy birthday. No one had. Stefan hadn't even called. Even my mother, the person who birthed me into this world, had already been gone when I had woken up this morning.

It wasn't as though I expected the world. I had been gone from Mystic Falls for almost six years at this point, but I had a Facebook like everyone else. It wasn't as though everyone had just not known. I just wanted a 'happy birthday, Caroline' or a 'have a great day, Caroline'. Was that really too much to ask?

"So any plans tonight?" Elena asked, putting the last of the pastries in a box. We were getting ready to close for the night, and it was just she and I in the bakery.

"No," I grumbled.

"Damon's leaving Ric in charge of the bar tonight, so we're going to have a date night, I think," she said, wiping her hand on a towel.

Seriously? It was my birthday, my BIRTHDAY, and she was talking about a date night with her husband. Typical.

The bell over the door tinkled, and I turned to yell that we were closed. Until I saw who it was, then I just frowned.

"Hola, party people," Kol said, hopping on the counter. He grinned.

"You know we're closed, Kol," Elena said, turning off lights in the display case.

"Indeed, I do, cookie girl," he said, "but I have come to ask dear Caroline if she fancies keeping me company tonight as I seem to be in a dry spell."

I almost smiled at the thought that Kol remembered my birthday, but then he had finished his sentence.

"No, thanks, Kol," I said. I would just go home and drown my Molly-Ringwald-like sorrows in merlot.

"Oh, come on, grumpy," Kol said. "I'll pay your bar tab." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Damn him.

"Fine," I said. "But we're not going to that shitty almost strip club by the interstate again."

"How can it be an almost strip club?" Elena asked.

"You don't want to know," I said. She shrugged.

"Fine, party pooper," Kol said. "Celeste's will wait until another night. We'll go somewhere in town. Finish your precious cleaning, and we'll go."

"Get off my counter, Kol," Elena warned, threatening him with a dirty rag.

Kol jumped off and held his hands up in surrender. My mind flashed to Klaus's identical action that night at my house, but I shook my head to try to get the vision out of my mind. Had he remembered my birthday? I had told him at that dinner, but I'm sure he hadn't. Why would he? I hadn't heard from him since the Saturday before last when he promised that he'd see me around.

It didn't take Elena and I very long to finish closing. With two people, it really does go much faster. Of course, we did have Kol sitting in a booth in a corner talking, so I'm sure that speeded us up just a tad.

After I watched Elena pull out of the back lot, I angrily clicked my seatbelt on.

"Well, someone's in a mood," Kol said, pulling out of the lot way too fast.

I didn't say anything, but crossed my arms to sulk.

"You're going to be fun tonight, aren't you?" he asked, flying down the street.

I could barely hear the bass of some rap much on the speakers, so I turned it up to shut him up.

"Alright then," he said. He relaxed into the seat and removed one of his hands from the wheel.

After a few minutes of driving, he whipped into the parking lot of The Hunter. I momentarily glared before I remembered Damon wasn't working tonight. That would mean I would only have to deal with Alaric and Rose, who were two of the only people who had passes to not know it was my birthday. As soon as Kol parked, I got out and slammed my door.

"Hey, don't take out your PMS on Shelia," he said, gently shutting his door to make a point. I rolled my eyes and lead the way to the bar.

As soon as I opened the door, I was greeted with a chorus of "SURPRISE!"

In front of me, the center of the bar was decorated with balloons, hats, and even had a banner hanging from the rafters that said 'Happy Birthday, Caroline," which was obviously Jeremy's handy work. Everyone—Stefan, Elena, Bonnie, Katherine, Matt, Jeremy, Damon, and even Rebekah—was standing with their arms out and smiles (well, Rebekah didn't, but I didn't count that).

I had jumped back at the exclamation of surprise and had bumped into Kol. I turned to look up at him, and he was smirking down at me.

"Like I'd ever be in a dry spell," he said with a wink.

I grinned so wide my face hurt. They'd remembered. They all actually remembered.

Kol wrapped his arm around my shoulders and lead me inside.

Elena rushed up to me. "I'm so sorry, Care," she said, wrapping her arms around me. "Stefan made us promise not to say anything about your birthday."

I hugged her back and said over her shoulder, "You guys remembered."

"Duh," Bonnie said, taking her turn to hug me.

"Pretty sure you've had the date ingrained in our heads since you were old enough to remember it," Katherine said.

I laughed. I was true. I had always loved birthdays, especially mine.

That's when I saw Stefan with a smile, and I ran to throw my arms around him.

"Thank you," I whispered in his ear.

He wrapped his arms tightly around him. "Like I would ever forget your birthday."

I held him tighter. "You know what I mean," I said.

"You're welcome." He had one final squeeze and he let me go.

"Well, let's party!" I said.

Everyone cheered.

* * *

It turns out turning twenty-five wasn't so bad. Everyone gave me presents, and Damon let me have whatever I wanted from the bar. I was like high school all over again, and I was enjoying myself.

I was laughing at something Kol said when Rebekah came up to my side. I had a momentary scowl before I remembered it was my birthday, and Stefan wouldn't let her ruin it. I gave her a grin because I knew it would irritate her.

"Happy birthday," she said in a bored voice.

"Thanks," I said. Even Rebekah wouldn't bring me down today.

"Would it be alright for us to schedule a time to go select your dress for the wedding?" she asked. I noticed her tapping her foot, but I didn't think it was because she was being obnoxious. I think she was nervous.

"Just you and me?" I asked.

"I would have invited you to New York, but your dress will have to be different from the bridesmaids," she said. "I need to focus on one task at a time."

"Oh," I said. A shopping outing with Rebekah? Sounded slightly torturous to me.

"It shouldn't take long since I only have to worry about the dress looking good on you and not three others," she said, crossing her arms.

"Um, sure," I said. "I'm free most weekends as long as I can give Elena notice."

"Would December 14 work for you?" she asked.

"I guess."

She held her head up and nodded. "I'll pick you at 8 on the fourteenth then."

"Sounds good," I said.

As she walked away, I realized that was probably the most civilized conversation I had ever had with Rebekah.

"You and my sister becoming besties?" Kol asked, throwing his arm around my shoulders.

I looked at Rebekah talking to Stefan, and Stefan reaching out to hold her hand as she spoke.

"Never," I assured.

Kol snorted. "Speaking of you becoming best friends with my siblings," he said, "Nik gave me something to give to you."

"What?"

Kol grinned, sensing my shock. "Your second favorite Mikaelson couldn't make your party tonight, so he asked me to pass something along."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Well, dear Caroline, the thing is, you have to promise me that you won't like it more than the present I so carefully thought out for you," he said, kind of dancing around me.

I thought of the bottle of Petron tequila and Juicy sweat suit he had given me. They were both expensive and I liked them. However, they were not the most thoughtful gifts.

"Don't give me that look," he said. Apparently my face had slipped while I was thinking. "You know you're going to wear those track pants, and we're going to demolish that tequila."

I frowned.

"You have to promise, or I won't give it to you," he said, reaching into his jacket.

"Just give it to me, Kol," I said, holding out my hand.

"I don't know," he said, backing away from me a little bit. "I'm not sure you're quite ready for this."

"Kol," I said, reaching out. "Give it."

Kol gave me an innocent look and backed up. I followed him, and he took off.

"KOL!" I yelled, chasing him around the bar. "I didn't wear the correct shoes for this!"

"Mikaelson, if you break anything, I'll break you," Damon warned from his booth with Elena.

Kol made it around the edge of the bar, and I jumped on his back. He grabbed my waist to keep me from falling.

Something fell out of his jacket. A long jewelry box.

Kol let me slide down his back, finally sensing the game was over.

"That's not it, right?" I asked quietly.

Kol bent down to pick up the box. "Do I really look like a jewelry man to you?" He held out the box and waited for me to take it.

I just kept looking at the box like it was going to explode. He wouldn't have gotten me jewelry. He couldn't have gotten me jewelry.

"It's not going to bite you, you know," Kol said, grabbing my hand and putting the box in it. He held my hand closed over it.

I swallowed and pulled the tiny card from beneath the ribbon. "From Klaus," was scribbled in an almost old world script. I slowly opened the box and gave an audible gasp.

Inside the box was the most beautiful bracelet I had ever seen. It was all diamonds, which I was sure were real, in what seemed to be shaped like oblong hearts. I was sure I had never held anything this expensive in my hands.

"Well, that's one way to get into your pants, isn't it, Barbie?" Damon said, looking over my shoulder at the bracelet. I realized I was holding the card in my hand so that he could read who it was from.

"Shut up," I said, not really hearing him.

He bought me a diamond bracelet. I tell him I can't date him, and he buys me a diamond bracelet. I basically blow him off, and he buys me a DIAMOND BRACELET. What the hell?! Did he think he could buy me? Did he think I was that shallow?

"Why do you look like you're going to kill someone?" Stefan asked, coming up behind me on the opposite side of Damon. "Who got you—oh."

I closed the box quickly and tried to hand it back to Kol. "Give it back to him," I said.

Kol held up his hands. "I don't think so," he said. "He said to give it to you. He specifically told me to make sure you accepted it."

"I don't accept it," I said, still trying to hand it to him. He actually moved away from me.

"You're going to have to tell him that," he said.

I glared at him.

"Holy shit," Katherine said, coming up behind Kol. "Who the hell got you jewelry?"

"No body!" I said a little too quickly.

Katherine raised an eyebrow. "Someone's touchy."

"Klaus is trying to get in her pants," Damon explained.

"Really?" Katherine said.

"No, he's not," Stefan said. I think he said it because he didn't want to think about anyone getting into my pants.

"I'd probably let him in my pants for a diamond bracelet," Katherine said.

"Not really an accomplishment since he's already been," Kol said.

"Ha ha," Katherine said, smacking Kol in the back of the head.

"Pretty sure he didn't have to pay that much for it either," Damon added. Kol laughed.

Katherine scowled at both of them.

"All the more reason to give it back to him," I said, trying to give the box back to Kol. He moved away again.

"You're going to have to talk to him about that," Kol said.

"Why is everyone gathered over here?" Elena asked, coming to stand by he sister.

"Klaus got Care a bracelet to get in her pants," Katherine explained, pointing to the bracelet and me, respectfully.

"WILL EVERYONE STOP SAYING THAT!" I yelled.

Everyone looked at me a little shocked.

"He's not trying to get in my pants, and I wouldn't let him anyway," I said. "He gave me a bracelet, which might mean more to him than it does to me, so I'm trying to get Kol to give it back to him, okay?"

"Can I at least see it before you give it back?" Elena asked.

I sighed, but opened the box to let her see it.

"Holy crap!" she exclaimed. She ran her fingers over the diamonds. After she removed her hand, I slammed the box closed.

"You can't keep that," Elena said.

"Thank you!" I said. Finally, someone else besides me was making sense.

"Well, I'm not taking it back, and Rebekah can't either," Kol said. "If you don't want it, you're going to have to return it to my dear brother yourself."

That sounded almost less appealing than letting Klaus think he had bought me off.

"Or you could just give it to someone else to avoid that awkward exchange," Katherine suggested hopefully.

"Kat," Elena reprimanded. Katherine shrugged.

"I'll give it back to him tomorrow," I said.

"Why?" Kol asked.

"Because," I said. "I can't accept something like this."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because he'll obviously expect something from it," Elena said.

"Exactly," I asked.

"You don't know that," Katherine said.

"This doesn't even matter because I'm giving it back regardless of what it means because it was too expensive," I said. "No one else say anything about it."

Everyone just looked around at each other.

"Get me a drink, Damon," I said. "It's still my damn birthday, and I'm going to have a good damn time."

"Alright. You got it, Blondie."

* * *

**A/N: So the famous Klaus bracelet has made its appearance, but Klaus didn't. How will this go considering what happened last chapter? You'll just have to wait. Thanks for reading! I always love reading reviews, so leave one if you want!**


	22. Chapter 22

The next morning, I woke up with a mission. To give Klaus his bracelet back and set him straight. I mean, I would do it in a nice way, because he was pretty, but I would still do it.

I unintentionally dressed a little better than usual. I put on my favorite cardigan and riding boots. I even got my hair to curl almost perfectly. It was irritating when I figured out that I was subconsciously dressing for him. I mused my hair a little big, you know, because.

I had to go into work, where the first thing Elena asked was if I had gone to see Klaus. She was the only one on my side last night to give the bracelet back besides Bonnie. Rebekah was offended that I would think about giving her brother's gift back; Stefan just thought it was a nice gift; Damon and Katherine both thought I should hock it for the money and move on; and Kol just didn't want Klaus to be angry with him either way. I had been carrying the stupid thing in my purse since last night because I didn't want to take the chance of losing it in my house.

Elena let me take an early lunch and called Jeremy in to help cover the lunch rush while I was gone. So that's how I found myself almost stomping down the street into Fell, Fell, and Mikaelson.

"Welcome to Fell, Fell, and Mikaelson. My name is Kim. How my I help you?" the overly cheery receptionist asked.

"Uh," I said since I was caught off guard by her rehearsed lines. "I'm here to see Klaus."

"Do you have an appointment?" she said, clicking and typing on the computer.

"No."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kim said, not sounding sorry at all. "Mr. Mikaelson is very busy today and is not accepting any new clients. However, if you would like to make an appointment-."

"Can you, like, page him or something?" I asked, cutting off her operator voice.

Kim frowned slightly. "Mr. Mikaelson-."

"Where's his office?" I asked. "I'll just go in. It won't take but a sec."

"I'm afraid Mr. Mikaelson is very busy today-," Kim started again.

"Can you just call him and tell him Caroline's here?" I tried.

"Caroline?" a gruff voice said from behind me.

I turned to see a huge, muscular African American man. He seemed out of place in his obviously expensive suit. He actually looked as far away from lawyer as you could get.

I raised an eyebrow.

"I'll take her back, Kim," he said, motioning for me to follow him.

I turned to see Kim glaring at this new man. I almost skipped off.

"So you do exist," the man said, leading me down a long hallway.

"I don't know what to say to that," I whispered. There was something about a law office that just made you want to be quiet.

The man laughed. "Fair enough," he said. "Klaus raised hell last night that he had to work through your birthday."

I couldn't say anything.

We reached the door at the end of the hall, and the man knocked.

"Come in," Klaus barked from the other side.

The man opened the door and said, "Got you a present."

When he opened the door, I was shocked at the sheer size of the room. It was bigger than my entire apartment in New York. Heck, it was probably bigger than the entire first floor of my house! It was painted in a very manly burgundy, and all of the furniture was cherry brown. There were bookcases on two walls, and a giant window covered the other. I was taken aback to say the least. It was one thing to _know _someone was a successful lawyer; it was another thing to _see_ it.

Klaus looked up and his wrinkled, irritated brow suddenly relaxed when his eyes met mine. "Caroline?"

"Hi," I said, giving an awkward wave.

"Might need to have a talk with Kim," the man said. "She basically threw her out because she didn't have an appointment."

"Probably a good practice in any other case," Klaus said, rearranging a few papers on his massive desk. He seemed to notice that the man was studying me a little too closely. "That will be all, Marcel."

Marcel frowned, but turned to me to say, "Glad to see that you were worth all of Klaus's fuss yesterday. Hope you had a lovely birthday."

He bowed, but when Klaus cleared his throat, he quickly moved out of the room and shut the door.

Klaus recovered quickly when it was just he and I in the room. "It's quite a surprise to see you, sweetheart," he said, coming from behind his desk to lean on the other side.

I tried to work up my irritation and anger again, but it was much more difficult when he was looking at me with that grin of his.

"I apologize for not making it to your party last night," he said. "But Kol gave you my gift, didn't he?"

"Yes," I said lowly, fishing through my purse. "And I can't accept it." I finally fished it out and thrust it forward.

Klaus looked at the box and then me confused. "Why can you not accept it? Didn't you like it?"

"Yes, of course," I said. "But it's way too expensive." I walked forward and held out the box again.

Klaus gave me that sly smile of his. "I think I can afford a diamond bracelet, love."

I frowned and walked forward some more. "I'm sure you can," I said, "but I don't want you to."

Klaus folded his arms. "What's this really about, Caroline?"

"It's about you getting me a gift that is too expensive!" I said.

Klaus raised an eyebrow, like he was asking me to continue.

"You can't buy me, Klaus," I said, moving so that I was just an arm's length from him.

"Is that what you think of me?" he asked.

"I tell you that I can't date you, but you get me this bracelet," I said, gesturing wildly with the jewelry box. "What am I supposed to think?"

"A beautiful woman like you deserves beautiful things," he said.

"No," I snapped, pointing at him with the box.

"No?" he asked. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean, I told you not to say things like that any more," I said. "You can't go around saying that I'm beautiful and buying me bracelets. I thought I had made myself clear."

"I don't believe you said anything about buying you bracelets," he said.

I scowled.

"I told you I wouldn't quit trying, Caroline," he said, closing the gap between us. "And I always win."

I ignored my heart beating faster as I slammed the jewelry box on his chest. "I'm not something to be won," I said.

Klaus touched the box on his chest and brushed a few of my fingers in the process. I think I had actually shocked him.

"Thanks for the happy birthday," I said. "Have a good day."

I removed my hand from his chest. I was feeling like my old self. I had actually been able to put someone in their place. I was almost confident. I turned and tried to gracefully walk out, but of course, Klaus couldn't let me go without having the last word.

"Caroline," he called.

I debated for a moment before I turned around, but I did.

"This isn't the end of this," he said, pointing at me with the box.

I knew it wasn't, and that's what scared me.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the extremely late update but classes are kicking my butt. But, here you go, finally headstrong Caroline has made an appearance! Also, Marcel. Hope you liked it, and review if you wish! Promise to try to update sooner next time!**


	23. Chapter 23

I didn't see Klaus for a while after that. He apparently had a big case going on at work. However, that didn't stop him from keeping his promise to wear me down. He would send Marcel or Kim in at least once everyday with little notes to for me and to pick up lunch for the team working on the case. Kim was understandably annoyed, but Marcel seemed to enjoy flirting with me a little too much.

I was never more thankful for a holiday as I was for Thanksgiving, even though I had to spend it by myself because my mom had basically let everyone else off for the holiday. Elena invited me to dinner with her, Damon, Katherine, Bonnie, Jeremy, and her crazy Aunt Jenna, but I didn't want to intrude on family. Kol had also asked if I wanted to dine with the Mikaelsons, and I said I would rather poke my eye out with a fork. So, I spent the day huddled on my couch watching HGTV and eating ice cream.

After I returned to work on Friday, it seemed like I was just counting down until my dreaded shopping trip with Rebekah. It wasn't as though I was looking forward to it exactly. I was more likely looking forward to having it done, so she would stop texting me dresses to look at. My dress was going to be black to match the guys' tuxes while the bridesmaids' dresses were going to be red. Apparently that was just too intense for Rebekah some times because she would message me a million times bitching that I was in the wedding or asked me why I couldn't be a man. I was offended by both.

I was fielding one of her text ambushes when I arrived at the bakery in early December. I wasn't really paying attention and ran into the door. After I bounced off, I looked at it confusedly and tried again to pull it open. It was locked. That was weird. Elena always got in before me and unlocked the front door for me. I shuffled to find my key.

"Lena!" I called when I made it in. I closed and locked the door behind me.

There was no response.

"Elena!" I called again. "It's Caroline!"

I waited a minute for a response before I went to her office. The light was on, and her purse was thrown haphazardly on the desk.

"Elena?" I asked a little quieter than a yell.

I heard a pained moan from the bathroom to the right of the office.

When I got to the doorway, I found Elena bent over the toilet basically puking her guts out.

"Are you sick?" I asked, jumping slightly backwards and covering my mouth. I realized that was stupid. It wasn't like anyone made the choice to throw up that hard.

"Sorry," she moaned. She threw up again.

I bent down to grab her long hair and pulled it back. I rubbed her back with my other hand.

"Do you need to go home?" I asked.

"I can't," she said, resting her head on the seat of the toilet.

"I can call Jeremy," I said. "I can open, and April will be in soon. Go home and rest. You'll be better in no time."

"No, I won't," she groaned.

I tied up her hair with one of the hair ties on my wrist. Then, I sat down beside her.

"Why not?" I asked.

"I'm pregnant," she got out before she threw up again.

I couldn't have been more shocked than if she had told me I was pregnant.

"Were you like trying to-?"

"Of course not," she said, reaching up to flush the toilet.

"Oh," I said. I realized that it sounded a bit judgmental, so I said, "Sorry."

She sat up and leaned back on the wall next to the toilet. I followed her actions and leaned on the opposite wall.

"How long have you been…?" I gestured to my stomach. I'm very subtle.

"I don't know," she said, running her hand through the messy ponytail I had created. "I thought I was before Halloween, but I didn't know. I didn't really start to believe it until a few days ago."

"Did you take a test?" I asked.

"No."

"What? Why not?"

"I just know, Caroline," she said.

"You should at least take a test," I said. "I was watching an ER rerun the other day, and this woman had this, like, hysterical pregnancy. Like, she wasn't pregnant at all, but her body was convinced she was."

Elena quit cradling her head to give me a dirty look.

"Well, excuse me," I said.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I just can't believe this is happening. I'm not ready for this. Damon definitely isn't ready. We can't be someone's parents."

"Weren't you guys, like, using anything?" I asked.

"Of course," she said. "But, sometimes, you just, you know, forget."

"Please tell that to your child when it becomes a teenager," I said.

Elena gave me that dirty look again.

"Can we please just go get a test?" I asked.

"I can't get a test in town," she said. "I haven't told Damon yet. All he needs is for Vicki to bust in the bar tonight after work at the drug store to tell him she saw me buying a pregnancy test!"

"Then we'll go to next town over, and I'll buy some for you," I said. "Don't you remember? We used to go to Whitmore, and I got beer with my fake ID. I'm good at stuff like this."

"Please don't compare buying a pregnancy test to buying beer underage with a fake idea that you stole from your mom's desk," Elena said. "But fine. We can go buy a test."

* * *

It turns out buying a pregnancy test had advanced since I had to buy one after a particularly hot night with Tyler in our freshman year of college. There was some that read out with lines and some that had digital readouts. I bought four different kinds and called it a day.

Of course, the old lady took in my bare left ring finger and my abundance of pregnancy tests, and she refused to talk to me.

"Well, that was fun," I said, jumping into the passenger seat of Elena's SUV.

"I threw up again, so we're even," she said.

I chucked the bag at her.

"Did you get enough of them?" she asked, pulling out the boxes.

I decided to ignore that comment since I had just been given the stink-eye by someone's granny for her. "Did Jeremy say he could handle opening the bakery?" I asked.

Elena shifted the boxes back to my lap and pulled out of the parking spot. "Yeah," she said. "I told him that you had an eye appointment, and you needed me to drive you around."

I gave her a look, but I didn't say anything.

The ride back to Mystic Falls involved Elena tapping on the sheering wheel, and me reading the back of the boxes so we knew what to do.

"I think you're going to have to drink a lot of Sunny-D like in _Juno_ if you want to do all of these tests," I said.

Elena ignored me as she pulled aggressively into my driveway.

"Why are we at my house?" I asked.

"I can't do it at my house. What if Damon comes home?" Elena said quickly. "And we can't go back to the bakery because you're supposed to be blind right now, and Jeremy's there and it's going to look super weird if you go with me to the bathroom."

"You know you're going to have to tell Jer and Damon if you're pregnant, don't you?" I asked. "I mean, I think they're going to notice that you're slowly going to gain, like, twenty pounds."

Elena looked at me. Her face was a mix of scared and hurt. I touched her hand, which was still on the gearshift.

"I'm sorry," I said. "You still might not have anything to worry about."

She nodded, but I knew she didn't believe me.

* * *

"I think we were only supposed to wait, like, three minutes," I said, pacing in my bathroom.

Elena was sitting on the toilet and was trying to hard not to look at the counter that was almost covered with tests. "It won't hurt to wait a few minutes longer," she said. "Maybe that will just make them more accurate."

I shrugged. "I'm going to look anyway."

"No!" Elena said, grabbing my wrist in mid-reach. Her fingernails dug into my skin.

I turned to her a little shocked but bent down to level. "It's going to be okay, Elena," I said. "Damon might be a dick, but he loves you. He'll love anything that has any piece of you, which this kid would. As for everything else, you seem to have the ability come out of any situation on top. I don't think this will be any different."

Elena was quiet for a moment before she said, "Thanks, Care. I needed to hear that." She let me go, and I knew that was permission to look at the tests.

I turned over five out of the eight tests she had done, and I knew what the truth was. I turned to Elena, and she looked back expectantly.

"Hi, mommy," I said.

She turned away from me and covered her mouth. I saw her shoulders start to shake, which indicated her tears. I didn't understand why she was so upset. She was married and had been since she was twenty. She had a job, and so did Damon. They had a gorgeous house, and Elena had always wanted to be a mom. Besides Bonnie, I couldn't think of anyone who would be more selfless when it came to her children. What was the problem?

That's when I realized that everything in your life could reflect that you were ready for the next step, but you might not be ready. Maybe Elena knew how selfless she would be, but she wasn't ready to have to be yet. Maybe she knew that Damon would love their child, but he wasn't ready for the responsibilities that came with love. What really dictated that you were ready? Was anyone ever really ready for anything?

I bent down to her again and just slipped my arms around her. She slipped off the toilet and into my arm. She held me tightly and cried. As I patted her back, I had the strange, fleeting thought that perhaps Elena and I weren't so different after all. She was now thrown off the course she had created for herself, and I was just now getting settled on a different course. Maybe Kol had been right. Maybe there was no way to be perfect. Maybe you just had to embrace the situation and what was to come from it.

I knew at this time that Elena didn't need my newly profound words of wisdom. She needed what I needed when I thought my life was falling apart—a good cry and a good friend.

* * *

**A/N: So, no Klaus/Caroline, but some Elena drama and a little self-reflection for our dear Caroline. Get ready for drama in the next chapter because it is Caroline's shopping trip with Rebekah, and you can only imagine how that's going to go! Thanks for reading, and review if you'd like! **


	24. Chapter 24

Elena didn't come back to work with me that day. She dropped me off at the bakery then went home to rest and work up the courage to tell Damon when he got home. She called me the next morning to tell me about Damon's reaction.

Unsurprisingly to me, Damon was ecstatic. I had known Damon as long as I had known Stefan, and I'm fairly sure he has been in love with Elena that entire length of time. She could do no wrong to him, and I knew he would love to have a miniature version of her running around. According to Elena, he had actually picked her up and spun her around. Her voice sounded much less heavy than it had the day before when she had dropped me back at the bakery; it made me feel a little less heavy as well.

They had decided not to tell anyone until Elena's first doctor's appointment just before Christmas, so I had been sworn to secrecy, which was really difficult since I was in a car with Rebekah at the moment. She kept talking about the wedding, and how good of friends she, Bonnie, and Elena had become since I had been gone. All I wanted to do was rub it in her face that I was still better friends with Elena than she was.

"…most exclusive shop in New York," she was saying as she pulled her white Lexus into the parking lot of a bridal shop in Richmond.

She was talking about the girls' trip to New York that I wasn't invited to, and she was trying to piss me off. She had been threatened not to ruin my birthday, but Stefan apparently hadn't talked to her before today.

I made a 'hmph" as we got out of the car. I had grown a lot as a person since I had moved home, but I had not outgrown the desire to punch Rebekah in the throat every time she spoke.

"I have an appointment," Rebekah said very haughtily as soon as we walked into the shop.

The clerk seemed to sense that Rebekah was vicious because her eyes widened, and I saw her throat jump as she swallowed heavily. She jumped into action.

"Yes, ma'am," she said. I heard her voice tremble, but I hoped Rebekah didn't. "What is your name?"

"Rebekah Mikaelson."

The girl hit a few keys on the computer in front of her. "Of course," she said. "Miss Mikaelson, come right this way."

She led us past all these extravagant wedding dresses on mannequins and through two rooms full of wedding dress. I wondered for a moment what my wedding dress would have looked like if I had married Tyler. Would it have been one of the extravagant ones on the mannequins, or a classic style that was in one of the rooms?

The girl led us to this open room white room with mirrors and small platforms. There were no dressing rooms that I could see, but there were a few girls coming out of a hallway in dresses to be judged by their family and friends.

"You're here to pick out a bridesmaid dress, correct?" the girl asked, checking the clipboard in front of her.

"My fiancé wants his friend to be one of his groomsmen," she said. She didn't even want this girl to think I was friends with her. Bitch.

"Oh, excuse me," the girl said. "If you'll make yourselves comfortable, Leanne will be right with you. Would you like anything to drink while you wait?"

"Champagne," Rebekah said, sitting down on one of the white chairs and crossing her legs.

The girl looked at me.

"One for me too, please," I said.

The girl scuttled off, and I sat down on a chair on Rebekah's right.

"The girls are wearing red," Rebekah said. "They are long, but they have varying tops. Elena's is one shoulder, Bonnie's is halter, Sage's has two straps, and Katherine's is off shoulder."

She paused to look at her nails.

"I was thinking that you could get a long black dress, so that you'll go with the tuxes," she said. "Also, you can't have a top like any of the girls, so it needs to be different. Maybe strapless."

This is usually the part where a normal person would pause to ask someone else's opinion, but I knew Rebekah better than that. The only reason I would get out of here in something not hideous was because it would ruin her wedding if I weren't dressed properly.

The clerk came back with our champagne. I thanked her and almost immediately drained my glass. The girl's eyes widened again, and she grabbed my glass to get a refill.

"I noticed you aren't wearing the bracelet Nik got you," Rebekah said. She sipped her champagne in an almost painfully proper way.

"I gave it back," I said.

"Not good enough?" she asked.

I glared. "Yes, Rebekah, that was the problem."

"With you, it probably was," Rebekah said. "Nothing is ever good enough for Caroline Forbes."

I picked at the button on the chair. I didn't want to cause a scene in a bridal shop.

"I don't know what kind of hold you've got on my brother, but I warned you," Rebekah said. I noticed she had stopped sipping her drink and was looking at me intensely.

"I don't have any kind of hold on your brother, Rebekah," I said. "I returned the bracelet to Klaus so he wouldn't get the wrong impression."

"Is that why he called Stefan two weeks ago to ask what you might like for Christmas?" Rebekah spat out.

"He what?"

"Don't act innocent," Rebekah said. "We both know you aren't."

She and I were leaning towards each other and glaring when we were interrupted.

"Hello, my name is Leanne!" a perky blonde said from in front of us.

Rebekah relaxed and placed her hands in her lap. She would never let any outsider see the malicious side of her.

I relaxed too but kept side-eying her as Leanne spoke.

"I see that we are a little unconventional," she said, looking at a clipboard that was similar to the one the girl was carrying earlier. "A woman as a groomsman. How fun!"

Neither Rebekah or I said anything.

"What did you have in mind, Miss Mikaelson?" she asked.

"Caroline's dress needs to be black, long, and strapless," Rebekah said. "She needs to look as different from _my _bridesmaids as possible."

I almost growled.

"Excellent!" Leanne said, writing down Rebekah's specifications. "If you two could just wait a few more minutes for me to pull a few dress to start. What price point are we looking at?"

"Whatever," Rebekah said, almost waving the girl off.

"Alright," Leanne said, her smile never breaking. "I'll be right back."

We sat in silence for a few moments. I was brought another glass of champagne, but I drank this one more slowly.

"You need to get over whatever problem you have with me," I said lowly. "I won't let your hatred of me ruin Stefan's wedding."

"Oh, I don't just have one problem with you," Rebekah said.

"What have I ever done to you?" I asked.

Rebekah clinched her jaw.

What had I ever done to her? We seemed to hate each other from the moment we met and every moment after that, but why?

"Alright!" Leanne chirped, bringing Rebekah and I out of our staring contest. "If you'll come with me, we'll get started!"

* * *

I love shopping. I love looking at clothes and trying on new styles. I always have. However, after trying on twenty, yes, twenty dresses, I was sure that I was starting to hate shopping. Maybe it was because the process of getting into these dresses was so time consuming. Some of them had lace up backs or buttons. These weren't cheap or run-of-the-mill dresses. They were hundreds or thousands of dollars. I was suddenly glad that Rebekah's family was covering every expense of the wedding because I could not afford to buy my own dress at these prices.

Of course, another reason it was so awful was because I was with Rebekah. Every dress I liked, she hated. Every dress that looked good on me, she told me it wasn't good enough. I hated coming out of the dressing room because she would walk around me on the platform and look at the dress from every angle. It was annoying and demeaning.

"Your appointment is almost over," Leanne said, zipping me into dress twenty-one. "I'm afraid if she doesn't like this one, you'll have to schedule another time."

I huffed as Leanne clipped the dress, which was two sizes too big, so Rebekah and I could get a better idea of how the finished and altered dress would look. I was not doing this with again with Rebekah. I would wear my prom dress, which was white, before I did this again.

"Take a look," Leanne said.

I turned towards the mirror that took up one wall of the fitting room and gasped.

I looked amazing. This dress met every one of Rebekah's specifications—black, long, strapless—but it also met the other specifications she had added while I tried on—sweetheart neckline, satin, fitted.

"If she doesn't like this one, I'll give up too, Leanne," I said, gathering the dress to move my way out of the room.

I caught Leanne's smile, and I smiled back. I knew this appointment had been just as rough on her as it had been on me. At least I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to go shopping with Rebekah; she was thrown into it.

Rebekah was on her phone when I came out and made myself ready on the platform. When she looked up, her face was void of any emotion. She stood up to walk over to me.

"This is a satin, sweetheart dress," Leanne said, as I turned. "It's $767."

Rebekah took a walk around me with a judging expression.

"It would blend well with the girls," she commented. I had no idea if that was a positive or a negative.

Leanne and I both said nothing. We didn't want to ruin anything.

"I suppose we'll take it," Rebekah said finally.

Leanne and I smiled at each other.

"Excellent," Leanne said. "I'll ring someone from fitting to get measurements, and we can complete your order today." She scuttled off.

I stood looking at myself in the mirror.

"As much as it pains me," Rebekah said from behind me, "you do look nice."

"Thanks," I said. A compliment from Rebekah? The world must be ending.

"You'll be wearing your hair down, so it should look nice," she said.

Two nices? What was her angle? I turned to give her a look.

"What?" she snapped. There's the Rebekah I knew.

I said nothing, but continued to look at myself in the mirror. I couldn't believe Rebekah and I had actually liked the same dress. I can't believe I liked something she picked out. Maybe the world was ending.

"Are you really not interested in Nik?" Rebekah asked in a small voice.

"Are you seriously going to start this again?" I asked, coming off the platform.

"He's my brother," she said, straightening her shoulders. "I've got every right to ask."

"No, you don't," I said. "Contrary to popular belief, people don't have to know everything about each other. You aren't entitled to know everything about Klaus's life just like I'm not entitled to know everything about Stefan's, as you have made quite clear in the past."

Rebekah took a deep breath like she was trying to calm herself. Why was she the one upset? She was the one asking me for the hundredth time about Klaus.

"You can't play around with Nik," she said. "He's had a hard enough life without you constantly disappointing him."

My thoughts flashed to Klaus telling me the archery story. Klaus obviously had pain that he didn't let just anyone see. I didn't need Rebekah to tell me that.

"There's nothing going on, Rebekah," I said. "I've told Klaus where I stand, and it's not my fault if he chooses not to listen."

Rebekah glared. "That's just the point, Caroline!" she said in a highly controlled whisper. "You obviously like the attention. You've led him on. You can't."

"How have I led him on?" I asked.

Rebekah's eyes drifted as she thought. "I don't know, but you have," she said.

I rolled my eyes. "Why does it even matter to you, Rebekah?"

"He's my brother," she said again. "I'm not going to let you ruin him like you've ruined everything thing else in your life."

It would have been better if she had slapped me. I felt my jaw drop, and I flinched back. She didn't smile or look pleased with herself. She just stood there was a hard expression.

"Fuck you, Rebekah," I said lowly, walking back to the dressing room.

I just made it before I started crying. I sat in the fancy chair in the dressing room and cried. It was one thing for me to think I had ruined everything about my life, but it was another to have an outsider point it out. I had tried so hard to get everything almost normal, well, relatively normal, and Rebekah had just thrown all of that out of the window.

"Let's get—oh, dear," Leanne said, bustling into the room but then noticing my state.

"I'm sorry," I said, trying to wipe the tears from my eyes. I don't know why I was trying so hard. It wasn't like she hadn't already seen me crying.

"What did she say?" she asked quietly.

"It doesn't matter," I said.

Leanne came over and bent down to my level. "You're right," she said. "It doesn't. Whatever she said isn't true."

I gave a painful chuckle. "You're really good at this job," I said, wiping my face again.

She gave me a small smile. "You're not the first person who's broken down in a dressing room," she said.

"I guess not," I said.

"What do you say we forget the measurements, and we get you a size up and make her pay for the alterations?" she said.

I laughed and nodded.

"You seem like a very nice woman," she said. "Don't let her get to you."

"Thank you," I said.

Leanne smiled and reached out her hand. "Let's get you out of that dress."

I took her hand but laughed.

"Sorry," she said. "You know what I meant."

Before Leanne could start unbuttoning and zipping, there was a knock at the door.

"Yes?" Leanne called.

A woman I didn't know stuck her head into the dressing room. "I'm afraid the woman you were with just left," she said.

First Rebekah calls me a failure and then she leaves me in Richmond? What the hell?

"Thank you, Tabitha," Leanne said.

Tabitha quietly closed the door.

"Do you have anyone you could call?" Leanne asked.

Did I have anyone? I had Elena, who was at work and would be helping Damon close the bar tonight. I had Bonnie, who was with Jeremy this weekend in Charleston for their anniversary. I had Stefan, who was doing rounds at the hospital all weekend. I had Kol, who was spending the week in DC with his brother. Even my mom wouldn't take time off work to pick me up. I had no one else. Well, I had one more person, but that could be worse than no one at all.

* * *

**A/N: Well, there you go. Finally a real blow up between Rebekah and Caroline. Now, Caroline is stranded in Richmond. Who will she call to pick her up? You'll have to wait until next Monday to find out! Thanks for reading, and please review!**


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